An online article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle PI) tells us the significance of The Boeing Company's birthplace in Building No. 105, affectionately known as "The Red Barn':
Boeing's Red Barn an official historic site
Published 10:00 pm, Thursday, May 1, 2003
The Red Barn, the birthplace of The Boeing Co. in 1916, was officially designated yesterday as a historic aerospace site.
The Red Barn is now part of the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field. Built in 1909, it is the oldest airplane-manufacturing facility in the nation.
"For everyone in Seattle, the Red Barn is a significant part of the community's history," said Ralph Bufano, president and chief executive of the Museum of Flight.
The designation as a historic aerospace site was made by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
Boeing's original manufacturing plant was honored for its contribution to aviation history.
So far, the institute has chosen 20 sites for recognition, including NASA Langley Research Center, in Hampton, Va.; the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.; Annonay, France, the site of the first balloon launch in 1783; and Tranquility Base, where man first landed on the moon in 1969.
The institute has said its aim is to raise the public's awareness of the importance of disappearing landmarks in aerospace history.
During an award ceremony last night, Alan Mulally, president and chief executive of Boeing Commercial Airplanes, explained the significance of the Red Barn to Boeing and the aerospace community.
"What I really appreciate about the Red Barn is that it represents the birthplace of aviation in the Pacific Northwest," Mulally said. "In fact, in this 100th year of aviation, we also celebrate the 100th anniversary of William Boeing coming to Washington state, where he began what is now the world's premier aerospace company."
Although it is now a symbol of Boeing aviation, the Red Barn actually has its roots in the shipping industry. In 1910, William Boeing bought the Heath Shipyards, including the building that would become the Red Barn, for $10.
In 1916, Boeing moved operations of what was then known as the Pacific Aero Products Co. into the Red Barn, which officially became the birthplace of The Boeing Co.
Located along the Duwamish River, the Red Barn served as the company's "world headquarters" from 1917 to 1929.
The aging structure was moved two miles down the river from that original site to its current location on Boeing Field in 1975. The museum was later built around it.
Two years ago, Boeing moved its headquarters to Chicago. The Red Barn stayed
Tomorrow at 1 p.m. at the Museum of Flight, William Boeing Jr. will accept the award from the AIAA during another ceremony.
The article conflicts with another article I read regarding the moving of the Red Barn from its original location to its current site. The Seattle Times wrote an article in 1980 about the move of the red barn in November, 1980 by barge and by trucks and dollies to its current location.