A Changing Landscape
Looking Forward to Bethlehem's Future
The sprawling steel plant once occupied close to 1800 acres between South Bethlehem and the Lehigh River. After it shut down, the company took on a major environmental clean-up, leaving the site safe for future use. In the years that followed, citizens, city government, company executives, and developers worked to create a plan to redevelop this location. They faced the challenge of using the site for economic development while preserving its historical significance.
The hope is that the combination of historic preservation and economic development here today will strike that balance. The Bethlehem Steel buildings that remain can stay standing for a long time. They are relics of over 130 years of industrial history-both its triumphs and its failures. These structures are an ongoing reminder of the people who labored here and what they produced: the steel that built America.
"When I started here, I said, 'This place will be here long after I'm gone.' Well, that's not so. We just have to go on with our lives."
- Steve Williams
Motor Inspector
[Photo captions, from left to right, read]
• A view of Bethlehem Iron, captured by William Herman Rau around 1896.
• This photograph by Jeffrey Totaro was taken in 2012 during a summer concert.
Erected by
this page online
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce • Man-Made Features. A significant historical year for this entry is 1800.
Location. 40° 36.901′ N, 75° 21.854′ W. Marker is in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in Northampton County. Marker is on the Hoover-Mason Trestle at SteelStacks. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 711 East 1st Street, Bethlehem PA 18015, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Heat Treating (here, next to this marker); The No. 2 Machine Shop (a few steps from this marker); Wartime Steel (a few steps from this marker); Non-Native Plants (within shouting distance of this marker); Why Did Bethlehem Close? (within shouting distance of this marker); The Flow Of Goods & Money (within shouting distance of this marker); One Of The Hardest Jobs In The World (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); A Legacy of Steel (about 600 feet away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Bethlehem.
Also see . . .
1. Bethlehem Steel: Forging America. (Submitted on February 24, 2018, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
2. Bethlehem Steel Corporation. (Submitted on February 24, 2018, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
3. Steelworkers' Archives. (Submitted on February 24, 2018, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
4. What is SteelStacks?. (Submitted on February 24, 2018, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
Credits. This page was last revised on February 24, 2018. It was originally submitted on February 24, 2018, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 149 times since then and 9 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on February 24, 2018, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.
