The Bell Bomber Park - City of Marietta - Cobb Co., GA
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Lat34North
N 33° 56.225 W 084° 32.081
16S E 727861 N 3757917
The Bell Bomber park is dedicated to thousands of men and women who built 665 B-29 bombers that played a major role in bringing the U.S. victory during World War II.
Waymark Code: WM1YYP
Location: Georgia, United States
Date Posted: 08/06/2007
Views: 106
THE BELL BOMBER PARK
This park is dedicated to thousands of men and women who built 665 B-29 bombers that played a major role in bringing the U.S. victory during World War II.
The steps remain as a reminder of the daily walk to work at the Bell Aircraft Plant by the employees from adjoining Marietta Place Apartments, a federal housing project for war workers.
The park is a joint effort of the City of Marietta; the Cobb County Commission; the State of Georgia; the Cobb County Board of Education who gave the land; and the Business and Public Affairs Committee of the Marietta Kiwanis Club, State Senator Steve Thompson, Chairman.
Special recognition should go to Joe Mack Wilson, then Marietta mayor; Bill Kinney, a Marietta Daily Journal editor; and the parks departments of Marietta and Cobb County.
MARIETTA MAYOR AND COUNCIL
Ansley L. Meaders, Mayor
Council
Betty L. Hunter, Pete Waldrep, Daniel O. Cox. Sr., Paul Sabiston,
James C. Dodd, Jr. Frank Ayers, Philip M. Goldstein
Located on the south side of Fairground Street where it ends at S. Cobb drive.
Additional Information about the "Bell Bomber":
Site of the future Aviation Museum (in planning stage) located on the grounds of the Lockheed-Martin plant. Building 1 was home of the WWII era “Bell Bomber” assembly plant, the largest of its kind in the Deep South. In 1942 the War Department awarded a contract to the Bell Aircraft Company to build B-29 bombers in Marietta at a plant that the Corps of Engineers would soon construct. Bell transformed the local economy, helping to bring the area out of the Great Depression. By 1945 some 28,000 employees (37 percent women and over 90 percent native southern) had become experienced industrial workers, capable of producing an average of one of the 4-engine, 62-ton, long-range bombers each day. The Bell operation closed shortly after the end of World War II, but many of the Bell employees returned to work when Lockheed reopened the plant during the Korean War in 1951. Lockheed-Georgia’s greatest success over the next several decades was in building transport planes (the C-130, C-141, and C-5). These engineering marvels exemplify the crucial role of research and development in the Cold War years, as Lockheed scientists continuously innovated new technologies to make bigger and better airplanes that went further and faster.
Type of Marker: Highway
Marker #: Not listed
Date: Not listed
Sponsor: Not listed
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Visit Instructions:
Take a picture of the marker, yourself at the marker, your gps at the marker, or anything specific to the text on the marker. And don't forget to enjoy your visit.