Bethlehem in Northampton County, Pennsylvania — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Peek Into The Past
1912
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., June 30, 2024
1. Peek Into The Past Marker Detail
At the time depicted in this panorama, the Bethlehem Plant had operated for 49 years and already outgrew two generations of shops and furnaces. On the left, the decommissioned 1873 Bessemer Steel Mill had been partially dismantled, with the Iron Foundry and new machine shops rising from the remaining stone walls. In the back, center of the image, the old Blast Furnace No. 2 had been removed, leaving behind a void in the sequence of smokestacks. Blast Furnace A would soon be built on this spot. The building in the center is the Projectile Forge Shop and still stands today as Central Tool Annex. To the right, we see the new Drop Forge, machine shops, and an Open Hearth Steelmaking Shop. In the far distance to the right, the mills of the Saucon Plant had recently begun rolling the renowned Bethlehem Beam. Within a few years, World War I would place new demands on production and drive further changes for the Bethlehem Plant.
[Image text reads]
1. Brass Foundry
2. Iron Foundry No. 4
3. Machine Shop No. 6
4. Machine Shop No. 6 Erecting Shop
5. Boiler Shop
6. Pattern Shop No. 5
7. Machine Shop No. 4
8. Projectile Forge Shop
9. Projectile Dept.
10. Machine Shop. No. 1
11. Annealing Shop
12. Blacksmith Shop
13. Open Hearth No. 1
14. Machine Shop & Drop Forge
Erected by National
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Industry & Commerce. A significant historical year for this entry is 1912.
Location. 40° 36.775′ N, 75° 22.22′ W. Marker is in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in Northampton County. It is at the intersection of 3rd Street and Pierce Street, on the left when traveling east on 3rd Street. Marker is in Foundry Park, near the National Museum of Industrial History. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 602 East 2nd Street, Bethlehem PA 18015, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Southeast Pennsylvania and in Lehigh Valley. It is also in the American Northeast and in the Mid-Atlantic. Globally, it is in North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Last Cast 25th Anniversary (here, next to this marker); Steelworkers Veterans Memorial
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., June 30, 2024
2. Peek Into The Past Marker Detail
Also see . . .
1. Bethlehem Steel: The Rise and Fall of an Industrial Titan (Roth, Pennsylvania History, 2020). (Submitted on July 13, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
2. National Museum of Industrial History. (Submitted on July 13, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.)
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., June 30, 2024
3. Peek Into The Past Marker Detail
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., June 30, 2024
4. Peek Into The Past Marker Detail
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., June 30, 2024
5. Peek Into The Past Marker Detail
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., June 30, 2024
6. Peek Into The Past Marker
Photographed by William Fischer, Jr., June 30, 2024
7. Peek Into The Past Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on July 13, 2024. It was originally submitted on July 13, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio. This page has been viewed 265 times since then and 124 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on July 13, 2024, by William Fischer, Jr. of Reynoldsburg, Ohio.
