Growing Up Steel

Being born and raised in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, the Bethlehem Steel Company was a part of my entire life growing up before moving to South Florida in 2001 . I had quite a few members of my family work there: my Dad for 28 years, my Mom, my two uncles, two aunts and my Grandfather, who was a metallurgist there. Countless friends and extended family worked there as well and it was known as ‘The Steel’ to all of us.

The End of an Era

The Bethlehem Steel was the lifeblood of South Bethlehem beginning in 1905 and the doors were officially closed in 2003 due to bankruptcy, but the mill itself hadn’t produced any steel since 1997. The steel that was produced in Bethlehem was of the best quality and helped build some of America’s greatest structures: the Golden Gate & George Washington Bridges, Alcatraz Island, the Chrysler Building, Rockefeller Center and the Hoover Dam to name a few. The Mill also provided armor plating for the US Armed Forces during both World Wars as well as some of the engine parts for Charles Lindbergh’s airplane he used during his famous transatlantic flight!

Bethlehem Steel: My View

I love viewing historical sites, like The Steel, and thinking about the types of people who used to work there. Who they were. What an average day was like for them. In this case, the labor of making the steel itself was very hard work. This series of photographs I took over a period of years as the Steel was in transition from defunct mill to the Steel Stacks entertainment venue it is today.

Located on the Bethlehem Steel’s site in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, you can visit the National Museum of Industrial History in person and read more about the Steel and other areas of industrial history. If you are going to be in the Bethlehem area, I urge you to visit the site via the Hoover-Mason Trestle. An outdoor raised walkway, the trestle allows you an up close and personal view of the blast furnaces as well as a bird’s eye view of the surrounding buildings.

In this post are some of my favorite photographs I’ve taken over the past few years at the site. Hope you enjoy them! JM.