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being inefficient. I like that combination of engineering and
manufacturing.”^354 The design engineers responsible for the
construction of the product need to visit the factory to see
the mistakes they’ve made, and the production engineers
can suggest improvements to the design engineers. This
process is more efficient if both the factory and the research
& development office are close together.^361
1 Rocket Road, Hawthorne, is in the part of California
famous for the home of Brian, Carl, and Dennis Wilson of
the Beach Boys. Their music flowed out of the hot rods
and sports cars at the Hawthorne Boulevard – one of the
world’s most well known cruising spots. The cruisers told
their parents they were going to the Hawthorne city li-
brary, only a block from the cruising spot, but they just met
at the library so they could cruise Hawthorne Boulevard.
When their parents discovered the lie, they took the car
keys, hence the “Fun fun fun til her daddy takes the t-bird
away” in the Beach Boys songFun, Fun, Fun.
Before Hawthorne drowned in engine sound and mu-
sic, you could hear military airplanes takeoff from the
Jack Northrop Field. During the Second World War, Jack
Northrop founded Northrop Aircraft Corporation, and they
flew airplanes, like the P-61 Black Widow, from the airfield
adjacent to 1 Rocket Road. At the address, you can today
find a large factory ordered by Northrop in 1966 in which
parts for the Boeing 747 were manufactured.