On June 30, 1997 the first 737-800 debuted at a ceremonial rollout on the north end of the 737 final assembly factory. A crowd of several thousand Boeing Commercial Airplane employees were on hand to witness the premiere of the 129-foot-6-inch airplane -- the longest 737 ever built at the time. The first 737-800 was the 2,906th 737 built and the 6,508th commercial airplane built by Boeing in Renton.