Robert Indiana kept a series of illustrated journals during the late 1950s and 1960s, in which he discusses the development of his work as well as his daily life on Coenties Slip.

In his journal entry for August 16, 1962, Indiana notes that gallerist Rolf Nelson, who had moved to Los Angeles, would be visiting the week of the 20th. He also writes that his gallerist, Eleanor Ward, did not call as she had intimated, but that architect Philip Johnson did. Johnson relayed that "he had seen [the] slides [that] Dorothy Miller has, and was excited by same, wanting therefore [to] visit my studio," so they planned a visit for the following Thursday.

Indiana then records that Marine Works was drying on an easel that Ellsworth Kelly had given him, so he proceeded to work on the small The Marine Works. He includes a sketch of a detail of the work and notes that he changed the red circle around the number 25 to cobalt blue. Of the painting he writes that it was intended for Schonbrun (his landlord), and that there was "no particular urgency for finishing it, but since it is unique as far as its size is concerned I thought it might be well [to] have it [in] a finished state for [the] wave of viewers [that] is due [to] descend on my loft."

He also notes going uptown to buy black paint and to see about getting some canvas stretched, "as it would be great [to] have another segmented canvas ready for Johnson [to] see." However, he was unsuccessful in finding anyone to do the latter.