See how a Bay Area concert venue has been converted into a hospital for COVID-19 patients

As part of local emergency preparations, Contra Costa County has worked federal and state partners to convert the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond into a 250-bed medical station for COVID-19 patients. As part of local emergency preparations, Contra Costa County has worked federal and state partners to convert the Craneway Pavilion in Richmond into a 250-bed medical station for COVID-19 patients. Photo: @supejohngioia / Twitter Photo: @supejohngioia / Twitter Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close See how a Bay Area concert venue has been converted into a hospital for COVID-19 patients 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

An event space and concert venue in the San Francisco Bay Area has been converted into a federal hospital for COVID-19 with 250 beds.

Set on 25 acres fronting San Francisco Bay, Craneway Pavilion in Richmond has hosted the Oakland Symphony and was previously recommended by Martha Stewart as a wedding venue. Now, it has been retooled to play a key role in offering support to the Bay Area's novel coronavirus effort.

Craneway was originally built in 1931 as a Ford Assembly Plant producing Model A cars. The 525,000-square-foot building was designed by 20th-century industrial architect Albert Kahn.

During World War II, under the direction of former U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the plant was reconfigured to process tanks and jeeps.

After the war, car production jumped back into gear and continued until 1955 when Ford moved its manufacturing to a plant in Milpitas. The building went on to stand empty and abandoned for decades and was damaged in the 1988 Loma Prieta earthquake.

The building was purchased by Orton Development in 2004 and underwent an overhaul that resulted in multiple design awards, including the National Trust for Historic Preservation award in 2008.

In its newest state as a federal medical station, Craneway will house COVID-19 patients who don't need ICU-level care if local hospitals become overwhelmed. Supplies were provided by the federal government and local healthcare workers will be called to work at the facility if the need arises.

"Dedicated County physicians, nurses and other professional staff will provide vital medical care in this historic building to help prevent our local hospitals from becoming overburdened by an expected surge in patients," Supervisor John Gioia, who represents the area where this site is located, said in a statement.

Gioia shared images of the converted Craneway Pavillion on social media and wrote on Twitter, "Fast progress! Mid-afternoon at The Craneway Pavilion. Thanks to our National Guard for their hard work in setting up the beds and equipment. Please post your thanks to them in comments."

Richmond Mayor Tom Butt said in a statement, "The Craneway played an essential part in winning World War II. Today it is being repurposed to fight another global war. This facility will help not only our local communities but contribute to the overall effort to contain COVID-19."

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Amy Graff is a digital editor with SFGATE. Email her: agraff@sfgate.com.