Rebirth of America's dead factories

NASA's Rockwell industrial plant in Downey, Calif., was the manufacturing home for both the Apollo space program and the space shuttle program.

The nearly 1 million square food facility, which employed about 30,000 people, also tested the prototypes for missiles and military airplanes.

But 70 years of manufacturing ended when the plant closed in 1999. In 2003, the city of Downey bought it and turned part of it into a production center to support Hollywood's film industry. It also sold part of the space to Kaiser Permanente, which built a hospital on the facility.

In 2004, the IRG bought 80 acres of the property. The firm is developing a business center, retail spaces and restaurants on the facility.