The Wilexa Archives

Your Engineering Career

To help celebrate National Engineers Week (a bit late) we offer a Douglas Aircraft recruiting booklet for engineering students during World War 2. Your Engineering Career shows the various Douglas planes to date and depicts a fun, challenging, and exciting career working for America's largest airplane company.

The company detailed the engineering opportunities available, from aerodynamicists to model designers to stress analysts to weights engineers and many others.

This booklet gives a quick overview of the Douglas Aircraft Company during the war years. There are sections on its heritage, products, facilities, and even a warm introduction from Donald W. Douglas himself.

Visit the Reading Room to view this 28-page history lesson today!

Draft EIR

The PacifiCenter Draft Environmental Impact Report has been published and public comments are now being accepted. The EIR can be viewed online or in person at any City of Long Beach Public Library, as well as the City of Long Beach Building and Planning Department.

The official PacifiCenter web site has a feature called "Draft EIR @ a Glance" that presents an easy-to-digest version of the EIR, focusing on the topics that matter the most to most people.

This full report details the current plans and alternatives that Boeing Realty has on the drawing board. There are three alternatives put forth, from a "preferred" plan that would include 2,500 residences and 3.3 million square feet of commercial space to an "all-commercial" plan. The homes envisioned for two of the three proposals would sit on the east side of the project, just to the west of Lakewood Blvd.

The schedule calls for the site to be completely cleared (including "the tower", Bldg 18A) by the end of the year (2004)! The development should be completed by 2020.

You can voice your comments and opinions in the Current Events forum. Links to recent news stories can be found there also. Remember, you don't need to register to post, and even if you do register, your email address will be kept strictly private.

Here are a few images of recent work going on at the PacifiCenter site. You can view the slide show or examine individual pictures below:

Click on a picture to see a larger image:

Mail Bag

Wilexa readers occasionally write in to ask a question or pass on a memory. Of course, the Hangar Talk forums are open 24/7, but email can be more personal at times and is always appreciated! Today's entry in the "Demolition Diary" includes two emails (used with permission).

Reader Jon Jamieson writes:

I came across your site today and have a question regarding some of the substations that have been dismantled at the former MDD Long Beach Plant. Do you know what those specific substations served?
 
The reason I ask is Southern California Edison has the creative knack of naming some of there substations. With over 600 in their system its kinnda neat to have that "fun", there is: Brew Substation (Miller Brewing Company), Galaxy Substation (TRW El Segundo) and Vapor (BOC Gas plant) amongst many others. Just wondering what Turbo and Stress served. I know MDD Long Beach had 4 dedicated industrial subs; Turbo, Boost, Stress and Astro. I know Astro is used for the C-17 program and I believe Boost is still used as well. Just wondered if they named Turbo on a play for words with Turbojet?? Or if Stress feed some "stress" related testing equipment.
 
Any help would be appreciated in this quest for industrial archaeology.

If any readers can answer his query, a quick email or forum reply would be great. Any takers?

Reader Bob Brent shares this memory:

I was only fishing for information on the DAC plant in Long Beach when I came across your website.
 
I worked at the General Dynamics Convair division up until its closure in early 1996. It had a similar fate of the DAC plant. I had a chance to visit the DAC plant in the early 90's. I was amazed at the similarities in the design of the two facilities. The one difference in building construction was that the DAC plant had insulation the thickness of the walls. It surely kept the building warm but what I really noticed was the quiet within the building, even while riveting was being done.
 
Convair's buildings had no insulation, consequently whether in the assembly area with riveting being done or in the machine shops, it was very noisy.

Thanks for writing, Bob. It's hard to imagine a factory being louder than the Douglas Long Beach buildings with riveting going full blast!