Rosie the Riveter Memorial

Richmond, California

We were tough on this attraction in 2009, when a sign promising a "Rosie the Riveter Memorial," lured us off the freeway. Back then, such an enticement needed to deliver no less than a 40-ft. tall version of the iconic World War II home front poster gal.

We're older now, perhaps wiser, realizing that more of the population craves pondering an artistic think-piece rather than some stating-the-obvious female giantess. So that's what you'll get at the Rosie the Riveter Memorial Park -- a skeletal, abstract suggestion of a "ship." Richmond's shipyards were where thousands of women workers toiled for victory. The full name is the "Rosie the Riveter Memorial: Honoring American Women's Labor During WWII."

The most prominent section -- an upside-down "stern" -- looks from a distance like a play structure for children. There are photos incorporated into it showing shipbuilding, women welding and working, and informational signs.

The design, by artist Susan Schwartzenberg and environmental sculptor Cheryl Barton, was dedicated in 2000. Seen from the air, it's more obvious that the full size footprint of a victory ship has been arrayed across the park.

Along the walkway down to the "bow" of the ship, which sticks out into water, there's a timeline about the home front. A set of metal rings along the path are meant to suggest a ship smokestack.

There is one gag photo possibility: you stick your torso through a narrow opening in the metal into a void -- which we are told by a park volunteer is meant to simulate the contortions welders had to endure to reach the hull.