World's Largest Building

In Everett, Washington, there is a little facility we all are quite familiar with. In fact, most of us who read this forum have probably used their products on occasion. The company I am referring to is none other than the Boeing corporation. One of their main production facilities produces the fuselages (bodies) of the 747, 767 and 777 models. The production of these mammoth aircraft (especially the 747) takes place in one building. The building has 472,000,000 square feet of floor space. To put that into perspective, a typicall grocery store is between 40,000 and 60,000 square feet. Wal-Marts tend to go a little over 100,000 sqare feet. The building that produces the 747 could house, within its walls, 4720 Wal-Mart stores. That's what's required when you produce aircraft with 224-foot wingspans, such as the 747.

I was browsing around on the Internet and came across this little photo montage of the interior of the production facility where 747s are made. I found it really interesting and it made me want to visit that place to learn just a bit more about how a fueslage is produced.

Correction: I re-read some of the facts about the Boeing facility and found that it does not have a floor space of 472,000,000 square feet, but an interior volume of 472,000,000 cubic feet. This doesn't really diminish the building that much (though nearly 5,000 Wal-Marts are not going to fit inside.) It does however have the ability to house 911 basketball courts or 47 American football fields. Disneyland would also fit in it along with 12 acres of Disney's California Adventure. So, it is still a pretty impressive structure.