Donald W. Douglas opened the Long Beach facility on the eve of World War II, having run out of production space at his plant in Santa Monica, California. In 1941, when Douglas opened the new aircraft 1.4 million square foot assembly plant adjacent to Daugherty Field in Long Beach, the company was a already a major supplier to allied air services in World War II. Douglas placed a 1-ton globe over the Lakewood Boulevard entrance to the Long Beach plant that became a signature piece of aerospace art. The Long Beach plant was the first air-conditioned assembly plant in the United States, designed without windows so it could operate 24 hours a day during World War II blackout conditions. Special double-doored openings allowed planes and equipment to be moved in and out at night without light escaping from the inside. Special netting suspended over the plant's 11 buildings provided camoflauge when viewed from above.