This Day In History: 1954-02-13

Steel erection began at the New Ford Assembly Plant.  By the end of the month most of what was to be the administrative offices and the cafeteria had taken shape, up to two stories in height.  Three teams from Bethlehem Steel were working with large cranes to put the steel together.  Thirty to forty cartloads of steel were waiting in the new Suffern yards for the crews.  One crew was laying out the steel in the order it was to be put up while two others actually put the beams in place.  Between 15 and 15 acres of the 39 acres projected to be used for the buildings had some steel in place.  Two freight cars of equipment for the boiler house were waiting on a siding in Ramsey to be installed when the building was further along in its construction.  Fred J. Brotherton, the general contractor had over 200 men at work on February 23rd laying the road, building the fence to enclose the project and building wooden forms for the laying of concrete for the foundations of the main assembly buildings.  Thirty-nine acres was to be covered with buildings alone and the fence was to surround 177 acres.