SS President Coolidge Newport News, Virginia built the two ships, completing "President Hoover" in 1930. The keel for "President Coolidge" was laid 22 April 1930 and the ship was delivered 1 October 1931. They were the largest merchant ships built in the United States up to that time. Each ship had turbo-electric transmission, with a pair of steam turbo generators generating current that powered propulsion motors on the propeller shafts. Westinghouse built the turbo generators and propulsion motors for "President Coolidge" but General Electric built the turbo generators and propulsion motors for "President Hoover". In the "President Coolidge" twelve Babcock & Wilcox superheater
Calvin Coolidge Bridge with distinctive design on its granite-faced abutment pylons. Art Deco ornamentation on the pylons includes carved eagles and incised carved lettering. The bridge, a replacement of a previous structure destroyed in the 1936 flood, was funded under the Hayden Cartwright Act, one of the numerous federal aid programs designed to provide construction jobs during the Great Depression. It was designed by W & L Engineering Co. in conjunction with Maurice A. Reidy as consultant and Desmond and Lord as architects. The bridge was built by T. Stuart & Sons. The bridge was named as a memorial to President Calvin Coolidge