Vertical panels on each side of the west entrance to the court introduce the automobile industry theme through the representation of Power House No. 1, which was and is the principal power generation and distribution facility at the Rouge complex. In these panels Rivera shows two kinds of industrial interdependence: that of raw and transformed power (coal is burned to heat water in the boilers, creating steam which is transformed into electricity in the turbines) and that of labor and management, (represented by the worker/mechanic at left and the the engineer/manager at right).

Rivera saw Power House No. 1 when the turbine generators were relatively new (the first two were put into operation in July 1931). The elegance and sensual quality of the machinery is captured in the mural panels.

The multiple points of view represented in these panels indicate Rivera's study methods. Climbing into turbines and sketching the steam pipes from different angles and heights, Rivera extended his curiosity beyond the formal quality of the machines into their functions and sequence of processes. This panel is a composite image representing at least three views from two levels in the power house.

The lower portion of the turbine has been altered in the mural. Instead of continuing the donut shape of the actual turbine, Rivera flattened it out to create the lobe of a giant ear and included ladder rungs. The placement of this ear over the manager/engineer may be Rivera's comment on the function of management as well as a reference to the deafening sound of Power House No. 1.

The worker depicted to the left of the doorway is a generalized portrait of Rivera, while the engineer in the electricity panel is a composite portrait of Henry Ford and Thomas Edison, close friends throughout their adult lives. Rivera paid tribute specifically to Ford and Edison and generally to the engineering profession.

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