Bethlehem Steel
Encyclopedia
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation (1857–2003), based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
, was once the second-largest steel
producer in the United States
, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
-based U.S. Steel
. After a decline in the U.S. steel industry and management problems leading to the company's 2001 bankruptcy, the company was dissolved and the remaining assets sold to International Steel Group
in 2003. In 2005, ISG merged with Mittal Steel
, ending U.S. ownership of the assets of Bethlehem Steel.
Bethlehem Steel was also one of the largest shipbuilding
companies in the world and one of the most powerful symbols of American industrial manufacturing leadership. Bethlehem Steel's demise is often cited as one of the most prominent examples of the U.S. economy's shift away from industrial manufacturing, its inability to compete with cheap foreign labor
, and its traits of business management
that value short-term benefit over long-term strategy.
The site of the company's former main plant, in Bethlehem, PA, is now home to an arts and entertainment district called SteelStacks. The plant's 5 blast furnaces have been left standing and serve as the back drop for this new campus. The site currently features a contemporary performing arts center, called the ArtsQuest Center, at the west end and the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, to the east of the site. Future attractions include a free music pavilion, Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks.
, a national financial crisis, halted further organization of the company and construction of the works. Eventually, the organization was completed, the site moved elsewhere in South Bethlehem, and the company's name was changed to the Bethlehem Rolling Mill and Iron Company. On June 14, 1860, the board of directors of the fledgling company elected Alfred Hunt
president. On May 1, 1861, the company's title was changed again, this time to the Bethlehem Iron Company. Construction of the first blast furnace
began on July 1, 1861, and it went into operation on January 4, 1863. The first rolling mill was built between the spring of 1861 and the summer of 1863, with the first railroad rails being rolled on September 26. A machine shop, in 1865, and another blast furnace, in 1867, were completed. During its early years, the company produced rails for the rapidly expanding railroads and armor plating
for the US Navy
.
In 1899, the company assumed the name Bethlehem Steel Company. In 1904, Charles M. Schwab
and Joseph Wharton
formed the Bethlehem Steel Corporation with Schwab becoming its first president and chairman of its board of directors
.
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation ascended to great prominence in American industry, installing the revolutionary grey rolling mill and producing the first wide-flange structural shapes to be made in America. These shapes were largely responsible for ushering in the age of the skyscraper
and establishing Bethlehem Steel as the leading supplier of steel to the construction
industry.
In the early 1900s, the corporation branched out from steel, with iron mines in Cuba
and shipyard
s around the country. In 1913, it acquired the Fore River Shipbuilding Company of Quincy, Massachusetts
, thereby assuming the role of one of the world's major shipbuilders. In 1917 it incorporated its shipbuilding division as Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
, Limited. In 1922, it purchased the Lackawanna Steel Company
, which included the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
as well as extensive coal holdings.
. The nation's decision to rebuild the United States Navy
with steam-driven, steel-hulled warships, reshaped Bethlehem Iron Company's destiny.
Among the world's strongest and most innovative maritime forces during the American Civil War
, the Navy quickly shrank after the end of hostilities, as national energies were redirected toward settling the West and rebuilding the war-ravaged South. Almost no new ordnance was produced, and new technology was neglected. By 1881, embarrassing international incidents highlighted the deplorable condition of the U.S. fleet and the need to rebuild it to protect U.S. trade and prestige.
In 1883, Secretary of the Navy William E. Chandler
and Secretary of the Army Robert Todd Lincoln
appointed Lt. William Jaques to the Gun Foundry Board. Jaques was sent on several fact-finding tours of European armament makers and on one of these trips he formed business ties with the firm of Joseph Whitworth
of Manchester, England. He returned to America as Whitworth's agent and, in 1885, was granted an extended furlough to pursue this personal interest.
Jaques was aware that the U.S. Navy would soon solicit bids for the production of heavy guns and other products such as armor that would be needed to further expand the fleet. Jaques contacted the Bethlehem Iron Company with a proposal to serve as an intermediary between it and the Whitworth Company, so that Bethlehem could erect a heavy-forging plant to produce ordnance. In 1885, John Fritz, accompanied by Bethlehem Iron Company directors Robert H. Sayre, E.P. Wilbur, William Thurston, and Joseph Wharton
, met with Jaques in Philadelphia. In early 1886, a contract between Bethlehem Iron and the Whitworth Company had been executed.
In spring 1886, Congress passed a naval appropriations bill that authorized the construction of two armored second-class battleships, one protected cruiser, one first-class torpedo boat, and the complete rebuilding and modernization of two Civil War-era monitors. The two second-class battleships (the USS Texas
and the USS Maine
) would have both large-caliber guns (12" and 10" respectively) and heavy armor plating. Bethlehem secured both the forging and armor contracts on June 28, 1887.
Between 1888 and 1892, the Bethlehem Iron Company completed the first U.S. heavy-forging plant. It was designed by John Fritz with the assistance of Russell Wheeler Davenport, who had entered Bethlehem's employ in 1888. By autumn 1890, Bethlehem Iron was delivering gun forging to the U.S. Navy and was completing facilities to provide armor plating.
During the 1893 Chicago World's Fair
, a structure that was designed to make the world marvel received its giant axle
from Bethlehem Steel. The world's first Ferris Wheel
needed enough steel to assemble a 140-ft tower to support an all-steel wheel, altogether making a 264-ft structure. The iron made in Bethlehem Steel's blast furnace
s was responsible for the world's largest single piece of cast iron
that had ever been made up to that time.
During World War I
and World War II
, Bethlehem Steel was a major supplier of armor plate and ordnance to the U.S. armed forces, including armor plate and large-caliber guns for the Navy.
In the 1930s the company made the steel sections and parts for the Golden Gate Bridge
and built for YPF a new distillery in La Plata
City, which was the tenth largest in the world. During World War II, as much as 70 percent of airplane cylinder forgings, one-quarter of the armor plate for warships, and one-third of the big cannon forgings for the U.S armed forces were turned out by Bethlehem Steel.
Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
's 15 shipyard
s produced a total of 1,121 ship
s, more than any other builder during the war and nearly one-fifth of the U.S. Navy's two-ocean fleet. It employed as many as 180,000 persons, the bulk of the company's total employment of 300,000.
Eugene Grace orchestrated Bethlehem Steel's wartime efforts. In 1943 he promised President Roosevelt one ship per day, and exceeded the commitment by 15 ships.
On Liberty Fleet Day
27 September 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt
was present at the launching of the first Liberty ship
SS Patrick Henry
at Bethlehem’s Fairfield (Baltimore) yard. Also launched that same day was the Liberty SS James McKay at Sparrows Point and the Emergency vessel SS Sinclair Superflame at Fore River in Quincy, MA.
From 1949 to 1952, Bethlehem Steel had a contract with the federal government of the United States
to roll uranium
fuel rods for nuclear reactors in Bethlehem Steel's Lackawanna
, New York
plant. Workers were not aware of the dangers of the heavy metals they were rolling and were not given protective equipment. (Some workers have since attempted to receive compensation under a 2000 radiation-exposure law. The law required the Labor Department to compensate workers up to $150,000 if they develop cancer later in life, if their work history involved enough radiation exposure to significantly increase their cancer risk. The Bethlehem Steel workers have not been awarded this compensation because the radiation dose involved in processing fresh uranium fuel is low, and produces a small risk relative to the baseline risk. The larger danger in processing uranium is chemical poisoning from the heavy metal, which does not produce cancer.)
The steel industry in the U.S. prospered during and after World War II
, while the steel industries in Germany
and Japan
lay devastated by Allied bombardment. Bethlehem Steel's high point came in the 1950s, as the company began manufacturing some 23 million tons per year. In 1958, the company's president, Arthur B. Homer, was the highest-paid U.S. business executive. The firm built its largest plant, at Burns Harbor, Indiana
, between 1962 and 1964.
, while profitable U.S. companies resisted modernization. Meanwhile, U.S. steelworkers were given rising benefits.
By the 1970s, imported foreign steel was generally cheaper than domestically produced steel.
In 1982, Bethlehem reported a loss of US$1.5 billion and shut down many of its operations. Profitability returned briefly in 1988, but restructuring and shutdowns continued through the 1990s.
In the mid-1980s, demand for the plant's structural products began to diminish, and new competition entered the marketplace. Lighter construction styles, in part due to lower height construction styles (i.e., low-rise buildings), did not require the heavy structural grades produced at the Bethlehem plant.
In 1991, Bethlehem Steel discontinued coal mining (under the name BethEnergy). At the end of 1995, it closed steel-making at the main Bethlehem plant. After roughly 140 years of metal production at its Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
plant, Bethlehem Steel ceased operations in Bethlehem.
Bethlehem Steel exited the railroad car
business in 1993 and ceased shipbuilding activities in 1997 in an attempt to preserve its steel-making operations.
Despite the closing of its local operations, Bethlehem Steel tried to reduce the impact on the Lehigh Valley
area with plans to revitalize the south side of Bethlehem. It hired consultants to develop conceptual plans on the reuse of the massive property. The consensus was to rename the 163-acre (660,000 m²) site Bethlehem Works
and to use the land for cultural, recreational, educational, entertainment and retail development. The National Museum of Industrial History, in association with the Smithsonian Institution
and the Bethlehem Commerce Center, consisting of 1,600 acres (6.5 km²) of prime industrial property, would be erected on the site along with a casino and large retail and entertainment complex.
Inexpensive steel imports and the failure of management to innovate, embrace technology, and improve labor conditions contributed to Bethlehem's demise. Critics of protectionist steel trade policies attribute the cause of this lack of competitiveness to American steel producers like Bethlehem having been shielded from foreign competition by quotas, voluntary export restraints, minimum price undertakings, and antidumping and countervailing duty measures which were in effect for the three decades preceding Bethlehem Steel's collapse.
In 2001, Bethlehem Steel filed for bankruptcy
. In 2003, the company's remnants, including its six massive plants, were acquired by the International Steel Group
.
In 2007, the Bethlehem property was sold to Sands BethWorks
, and plans to build a casino
where the plant once stood were drafted. Construction began in fall 2007; the casino was completed in 2009. Ironically, the casino had difficulty finding structural steel for construction, thanks to a global steel shortage and pressure to build Pennsylvania's tax-generating casinos. 16,000 tons of steel will be needed to build the $600 million complex.
, whose railcar division was at Johnstown
, Pennsylvania
. Despite its status as a major integrated steel maker, Bethlehem Steel Freight Car Division pioneered the use of aluminum in freight car construction. The Johnstown plant was purchased from Bethlehem Steel through a management buyout in 1991, creating Johnstown America Industries.
was president of Bethlehem Steel from 1916 to 1945, and chairman of the board from 1945 until his retirement in 1957. During Grace's tenure the company manufactured the steel for many of the country's most prominent landmarks:
Bethlehem Steel fabricated the largest electric generator shaft in the world, produced for General Electric
in the 1950s.
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
, was once the second-largest steel
Steel
Steel is an alloy that consists mostly of iron and has a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most common alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used, such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
producer in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, after Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
-based U.S. Steel
U.S. Steel
The United States Steel Corporation , more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an integrated steel producer with major production operations in the United States, Canada, and Central Europe. The company is the world's tenth largest steel producer ranked by sales...
. After a decline in the U.S. steel industry and management problems leading to the company's 2001 bankruptcy, the company was dissolved and the remaining assets sold to International Steel Group
International Steel Group
International Steel Group was a steel company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2004 it was ranked #426 on the Fortune 500. It was created after the turn around fund, WL Ross & Co. LLC, purchased LTV Steel in February 2002...
in 2003. In 2005, ISG merged with Mittal Steel
Mittal Steel Company
Mittal Steel Company N.V. was one of the world's largest steel producers by volume, and also one of the largests in turnover. The company is now part of ArcelorMittal....
, ending U.S. ownership of the assets of Bethlehem Steel.
Bethlehem Steel was also one of the largest shipbuilding
Shipbuilding
Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and floating vessels. It normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces its roots to before recorded history.Shipbuilding and ship repairs, both...
companies in the world and one of the most powerful symbols of American industrial manufacturing leadership. Bethlehem Steel's demise is often cited as one of the most prominent examples of the U.S. economy's shift away from industrial manufacturing, its inability to compete with cheap foreign labor
Labour economics
Labor economics seeks to understand the functioning and dynamics of the market for labor. Labor markets function through the interaction of workers and employers...
, and its traits of business management
Management
Management in all business and organizational activities is the act of getting people together to accomplish desired goals and objectives using available resources efficiently and effectively...
that value short-term benefit over long-term strategy.
The site of the company's former main plant, in Bethlehem, PA, is now home to an arts and entertainment district called SteelStacks. The plant's 5 blast furnaces have been left standing and serve as the back drop for this new campus. The site currently features a contemporary performing arts center, called the ArtsQuest Center, at the west end and the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, to the east of the site. Future attractions include a free music pavilion, Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks.
Founding
The company's roots go back to 1857 when the Saucona Iron Company was first organized by Augustus Wolle. The Panic of 1857Panic of 1857
The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Indeed, because of the interconnectedness of the world economy by the time of the 1850s, the financial crisis which began in the autumn of 1857 was...
, a national financial crisis, halted further organization of the company and construction of the works. Eventually, the organization was completed, the site moved elsewhere in South Bethlehem, and the company's name was changed to the Bethlehem Rolling Mill and Iron Company. On June 14, 1860, the board of directors of the fledgling company elected Alfred Hunt
Alfred Hunt (steel magnate)
Alfred Hunt was the first president of Bethlehem Iron Company, precursor of Bethlehem Steel Corporation. He was elected president on July 15, 1860 by the board of directors of the fledgling Bethlehem Iron Company...
president. On May 1, 1861, the company's title was changed again, this time to the Bethlehem Iron Company. Construction of the first blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
began on July 1, 1861, and it went into operation on January 4, 1863. The first rolling mill was built between the spring of 1861 and the summer of 1863, with the first railroad rails being rolled on September 26. A machine shop, in 1865, and another blast furnace, in 1867, were completed. During its early years, the company produced rails for the rapidly expanding railroads and armor plating
Vehicle armour
Military vehicles are commonly armoured to withstand the impact of shrapnel, bullets, missiles, or shells, protecting the personnel inside from enemy fire. Such vehicles include tanks, aircraft, and ships....
for the US Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
.
In 1899, the company assumed the name Bethlehem Steel Company. In 1904, Charles M. Schwab
Charles M. Schwab
Charles Michael Schwab was an American steel magnate. Under his leadership, Bethlehem Steel became the second largest steel maker in the United States, and one of the most important heavy manufacturers in the world....
and Joseph Wharton
Joseph Wharton
Joseph Wharton was a prominent Philadelphia merchant, industrialist and philanthropist, who was involved in mining, manufacturing and education...
formed the Bethlehem Steel Corporation with Schwab becoming its first president and chairman of its board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
.
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation ascended to great prominence in American industry, installing the revolutionary grey rolling mill and producing the first wide-flange structural shapes to be made in America. These shapes were largely responsible for ushering in the age of the skyscraper
Skyscraper
A skyscraper is a tall, continuously habitable building of many stories, often designed for office and commercial use. There is no official definition or height above which a building may be classified as a skyscraper...
and establishing Bethlehem Steel as the leading supplier of steel to the construction
Construction
In the fields of architecture and civil engineering, construction is a process that consists of the building or assembling of infrastructure. Far from being a single activity, large scale construction is a feat of human multitasking...
industry.
In the early 1900s, the corporation branched out from steel, with iron mines in Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
and shipyard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
s around the country. In 1913, it acquired the Fore River Shipbuilding Company of Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
, thereby assuming the role of one of the world's major shipbuilders. In 1917 it incorporated its shipbuilding division as Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when Bethlehem Steel Corporation acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works in 1905...
, Limited. In 1922, it purchased the Lackawanna Steel Company
Lackawanna Steel Company
The Lackawanna Steel Company was an American steel manufacturing company that existed as an independent company from 1840 to 1922, and as a subsidiary of the Bethlehem Steel company from 1922 to 1983. Founded by the Scranton family, it was once the second-largest steel company in the world ....
, which included the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad
The Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad Company was a railroad connecting Pennsylvania's Lackawanna Valley, rich in anthracite coal, to Hoboken, New Jersey, , Buffalo and Oswego, New York...
as well as extensive coal holdings.
1890s
Although the company continued to prosper during the early 1880s, its share of the rail market began to decline in the face of competition from growing Pittsburgh-based firms such as the Carnegie Steel CompanyCarnegie Steel Company
Carnegie Steel Company was a steel producing company created by Andrew Carnegie to manage business at his steel mills in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania area in the late 19th century.-Creation:...
. The nation's decision to rebuild the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
with steam-driven, steel-hulled warships, reshaped Bethlehem Iron Company's destiny.
Among the world's strongest and most innovative maritime forces during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
, the Navy quickly shrank after the end of hostilities, as national energies were redirected toward settling the West and rebuilding the war-ravaged South. Almost no new ordnance was produced, and new technology was neglected. By 1881, embarrassing international incidents highlighted the deplorable condition of the U.S. fleet and the need to rebuild it to protect U.S. trade and prestige.
In 1883, Secretary of the Navy William E. Chandler
William E. Chandler
William Eaton Chandler was a lawyer who served as United States Secretary of the Navy and as a U.S. Senator from New Hampshire.-Early life:...
and Secretary of the Army Robert Todd Lincoln
Robert Todd Lincoln
Robert Todd Lincoln was an American lawyer and Secretary of War, and the first son of President Abraham Lincoln and Mary Todd Lincoln...
appointed Lt. William Jaques to the Gun Foundry Board. Jaques was sent on several fact-finding tours of European armament makers and on one of these trips he formed business ties with the firm of Joseph Whitworth
Joseph Whitworth
Sir Joseph Whitworth, 1st Baronet was an English engineer, entrepreneur, inventor and philanthropist. In 1841, he devised the British Standard Whitworth system, which created an accepted standard for screw threads...
of Manchester, England. He returned to America as Whitworth's agent and, in 1885, was granted an extended furlough to pursue this personal interest.
Jaques was aware that the U.S. Navy would soon solicit bids for the production of heavy guns and other products such as armor that would be needed to further expand the fleet. Jaques contacted the Bethlehem Iron Company with a proposal to serve as an intermediary between it and the Whitworth Company, so that Bethlehem could erect a heavy-forging plant to produce ordnance. In 1885, John Fritz, accompanied by Bethlehem Iron Company directors Robert H. Sayre, E.P. Wilbur, William Thurston, and Joseph Wharton
Joseph Wharton
Joseph Wharton was a prominent Philadelphia merchant, industrialist and philanthropist, who was involved in mining, manufacturing and education...
, met with Jaques in Philadelphia. In early 1886, a contract between Bethlehem Iron and the Whitworth Company had been executed.
In spring 1886, Congress passed a naval appropriations bill that authorized the construction of two armored second-class battleships, one protected cruiser, one first-class torpedo boat, and the complete rebuilding and modernization of two Civil War-era monitors. The two second-class battleships (the USS Texas
USS Texas (1892)
USS Texas was a second-class pre-dreadnought battleship built by the United States in the early 1890s. She was the first American battleship and the first ship named in honor of the state of Texas to be built by the United States...
and the USS Maine
USS Maine (ACR-1)
USS Maine was the United States Navy's second commissioned pre-dreadnought battleship, although she was originally classified as an armored cruiser. She is best known for her catastrophic loss in Havana harbor. Maine had been sent to Havana, Cuba to protect U.S. interests during the Cuban revolt...
) would have both large-caliber guns (12" and 10" respectively) and heavy armor plating. Bethlehem secured both the forging and armor contracts on June 28, 1887.
Between 1888 and 1892, the Bethlehem Iron Company completed the first U.S. heavy-forging plant. It was designed by John Fritz with the assistance of Russell Wheeler Davenport, who had entered Bethlehem's employ in 1888. By autumn 1890, Bethlehem Iron was delivering gun forging to the U.S. Navy and was completing facilities to provide armor plating.
During the 1893 Chicago World's Fair
World's Columbian Exposition
The World's Columbian Exposition was a World's Fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. Chicago bested New York City; Washington, D.C.; and St...
, a structure that was designed to make the world marvel received its giant axle
Axle
An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to its surroundings, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle...
from Bethlehem Steel. The world's first Ferris Wheel
Ferris Wheel
The original Ferris Wheel, sometimes also referred to as the Chicago Wheel, was the centerpiece of the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois....
needed enough steel to assemble a 140-ft tower to support an all-steel wheel, altogether making a 264-ft structure. The iron made in Bethlehem Steel's blast furnace
Blast furnace
A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally iron.In a blast furnace, fuel and ore and flux are continuously supplied through the top of the furnace, while air is blown into the bottom of the chamber, so that the chemical reactions...
s was responsible for the world's largest single piece of cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
that had ever been made up to that time.
1930s and 1940s
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Bethlehem Steel was a major supplier of armor plate and ordnance to the U.S. armed forces, including armor plate and large-caliber guns for the Navy.
In the 1930s the company made the steel sections and parts for the Golden Gate Bridge
Golden Gate Bridge
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, the structure links the city of San Francisco, on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to...
and built for YPF a new distillery in La Plata
La Plata
La Plata is the capital city of the Province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, and of La Plata partido. According to the , the city proper has a population of 574,369 and its metropolitan area has 694,253 inhabitants....
City, which was the tenth largest in the world. During World War II, as much as 70 percent of airplane cylinder forgings, one-quarter of the armor plate for warships, and one-third of the big cannon forgings for the U.S armed forces were turned out by Bethlehem Steel.
Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation
Bethlehem Steel Corporation Shipbuilding Division was created in 1905 when Bethlehem Steel Corporation acquired the San Francisco shipyard Union Iron Works in 1905...
's 15 shipyard
Shipyard
Shipyards and dockyards are places which repair and build ships. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Dockyards are sometimes more associated with maintenance and basing activities than shipyards, which are sometimes associated more with initial...
s produced a total of 1,121 ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
s, more than any other builder during the war and nearly one-fifth of the U.S. Navy's two-ocean fleet. It employed as many as 180,000 persons, the bulk of the company's total employment of 300,000.
Eugene Grace orchestrated Bethlehem Steel's wartime efforts. In 1943 he promised President Roosevelt one ship per day, and exceeded the commitment by 15 ships.
On Liberty Fleet Day
Liberty Fleet Day (Victory Fleet Day)
27 September 1941 was dubbed as “Liberty Fleet Day” due to the 14 “Emergency” vessels that were launched in shipyards across the United States. This fleet included the first Liberty ship SS Patrick Henry, one troop transport, a tanker, a US Navy ammunition ship and a Royal Navy aircraft carrier...
27 September 1941 President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt , also known by his initials, FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States and a central figure in world events during the mid-20th century, leading the United States during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war...
was present at the launching of the first Liberty ship
Liberty ship
Liberty ships were cargo ships built in the United States during World War II. Though British in conception, they were adapted by the U.S. as they were cheap and quick to build, and came to symbolize U.S. wartime industrial output. Based on vessels ordered by Britain to replace ships torpedoed by...
SS Patrick Henry
SS Patrick Henry
The SS Patrick Henry was the first Liberty ship launched.The ships initially had a poor public image and to try to assuage public opinion, 27 September 1941 was designated Liberty Fleet Day, and the first 14 "Emergency" vessels were launched that day. The first of these was Patrick Henry,...
at Bethlehem’s Fairfield (Baltimore) yard. Also launched that same day was the Liberty SS James McKay at Sparrows Point and the Emergency vessel SS Sinclair Superflame at Fore River in Quincy, MA.
1950s and 1960s
When peacetime came, the plant continued to supply a wide variety of structural shapes for the construction trades and forged products for defense, power generation and steel-producing companies.From 1949 to 1952, Bethlehem Steel had a contract with the federal government of the United States
Federal government of the United States
The federal government of the United States is the national government of the constitutional republic of fifty states that is the United States of America. The federal government comprises three distinct branches of government: a legislative, an executive and a judiciary. These branches and...
to roll uranium
Uranium
Uranium is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the actinide series of the periodic table, with atomic number 92. It is assigned the chemical symbol U. A uranium atom has 92 protons and 92 electrons, of which 6 are valence electrons...
fuel rods for nuclear reactors in Bethlehem Steel's Lackawanna
Lackawanna, New York
Lackawanna is a city in Erie County, New York, U.S., located just south of the city of Buffalo in the western part of New York state. The population was 18,141 at the 2010 census. The name derives from the Lackawanna Steel Company...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
plant. Workers were not aware of the dangers of the heavy metals they were rolling and were not given protective equipment. (Some workers have since attempted to receive compensation under a 2000 radiation-exposure law. The law required the Labor Department to compensate workers up to $150,000 if they develop cancer later in life, if their work history involved enough radiation exposure to significantly increase their cancer risk. The Bethlehem Steel workers have not been awarded this compensation because the radiation dose involved in processing fresh uranium fuel is low, and produces a small risk relative to the baseline risk. The larger danger in processing uranium is chemical poisoning from the heavy metal, which does not produce cancer.)
The steel industry in the U.S. prospered during and after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, while the steel industries in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
lay devastated by Allied bombardment. Bethlehem Steel's high point came in the 1950s, as the company began manufacturing some 23 million tons per year. In 1958, the company's president, Arthur B. Homer, was the highest-paid U.S. business executive. The firm built its largest plant, at Burns Harbor, Indiana
Burns Harbor, Indiana
Burns Harbor is a town in Westchester Township, Porter County, Indiana, United States on the shores of Lake Michigan in Northwest Indiana and is part of the Chicago metropolitan area...
, between 1962 and 1964.
1970s through 1990s
The U.S. advantage lasted about two decades, during which the U.S. steel industry operated with little foreign competition. But eventually, the foreign firms were rebuilt with modern techniques such as continuous castingContinuous casting
Continuous casting, also called strand casting, is the process whereby molten metal is solidified into a "semifinished" billet, bloom, or slab for subsequent rolling in the finishing mills. Prior to the introduction of continuous casting in the 1950s, steel was poured into stationary molds to form...
, while profitable U.S. companies resisted modernization. Meanwhile, U.S. steelworkers were given rising benefits.
By the 1970s, imported foreign steel was generally cheaper than domestically produced steel.
In 1982, Bethlehem reported a loss of US$1.5 billion and shut down many of its operations. Profitability returned briefly in 1988, but restructuring and shutdowns continued through the 1990s.
In the mid-1980s, demand for the plant's structural products began to diminish, and new competition entered the marketplace. Lighter construction styles, in part due to lower height construction styles (i.e., low-rise buildings), did not require the heavy structural grades produced at the Bethlehem plant.
In 1991, Bethlehem Steel discontinued coal mining (under the name BethEnergy). At the end of 1995, it closed steel-making at the main Bethlehem plant. After roughly 140 years of metal production at its Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Lehigh and Northampton Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 74,982, making it the seventh largest city in Pennsylvania, after Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Allentown, Erie,...
plant, Bethlehem Steel ceased operations in Bethlehem.
Bethlehem Steel exited the railroad car
Railroad car
A railroad car or railway vehicle , also known as a bogie in Indian English, is a vehicle on a rail transport system that is used for the carrying of cargo or passengers. Cars can be coupled together into a train and hauled by one or more locomotives...
business in 1993 and ceased shipbuilding activities in 1997 in an attempt to preserve its steel-making operations.
Closing and bankruptcy
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley, known officially by the United States Census Bureau as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metropolitan area and referred to locally as The Valley and A-B-E, is a metropolitan region consisting of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, and Carbon counties in eastern Pennsylvania and...
area with plans to revitalize the south side of Bethlehem. It hired consultants to develop conceptual plans on the reuse of the massive property. The consensus was to rename the 163-acre (660,000 m²) site Bethlehem Works
Bethlehem Works
Bethlehem Works is a development site in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, based on land formerly owned by Bethlehem Steel. The company discontinued its steelmaking activities at the main Bethlehem plant in 1995 after about 140 years of metal production...
and to use the land for cultural, recreational, educational, entertainment and retail development. The National Museum of Industrial History, in association with the Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
and the Bethlehem Commerce Center, consisting of 1,600 acres (6.5 km²) of prime industrial property, would be erected on the site along with a casino and large retail and entertainment complex.
Inexpensive steel imports and the failure of management to innovate, embrace technology, and improve labor conditions contributed to Bethlehem's demise. Critics of protectionist steel trade policies attribute the cause of this lack of competitiveness to American steel producers like Bethlehem having been shielded from foreign competition by quotas, voluntary export restraints, minimum price undertakings, and antidumping and countervailing duty measures which were in effect for the three decades preceding Bethlehem Steel's collapse.
In 2001, Bethlehem Steel filed for bankruptcy
Bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal status of an insolvent person or an organisation, that is, one that cannot repay the debts owed to creditors. In most jurisdictions bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor....
. In 2003, the company's remnants, including its six massive plants, were acquired by the International Steel Group
International Steel Group
International Steel Group was a steel company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. In 2004 it was ranked #426 on the Fortune 500. It was created after the turn around fund, WL Ross & Co. LLC, purchased LTV Steel in February 2002...
.
In 2007, the Bethlehem property was sold to Sands BethWorks
Sands BethWorks
Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem is a casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, in the United States....
, and plans to build a casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
where the plant once stood were drafted. Construction began in fall 2007; the casino was completed in 2009. Ironically, the casino had difficulty finding structural steel for construction, thanks to a global steel shortage and pressure to build Pennsylvania's tax-generating casinos. 16,000 tons of steel will be needed to build the $600 million complex.
Shipyards
- Fore River ShipyardFore River ShipyardThe Fore River Shipyard of Quincy, Massachusetts, more formally known as the Fore River Ship and Engine Building Company, was a shipyard in the United States from 1883 until 1986. Located on the Weymouth Fore River, the yard began operations in 1883 in Braintree, Massachusetts before being moved...
- Massachusetts - Bethlehem Sparrows Point Shipyard in Sparrows PointSparrows PointSparrows Point is an unincorporated area in Baltimore County, Maryland, adjacent to Dundalk, Maryland. Named for Thomas Sparrow, landowner, it was the site of a very large industrial complex owned by Bethlehem Steel, known for steelmaking and shipbuilding....
, Maryland (now Barletta Industries Sparrows Point Shipyard and Industrial Complex) - Alameda Shipyard - California
- Pier 70 in San Francisco - California (formerly "U.S. Iron Works", now BAE SystemsBAE SystemsBAE Systems plc is a British multinational defence, security and aerospace company headquartered in London, United Kingdom, that has global interests, particularly in North America through its subsidiary BAE Systems Inc. BAE is among the world's largest military contractors; in 2009 it was the...
San Francisco Ship Repair)
Freight cars
From 1923 to 1991, Bethlehem Steel was one of the world's leading producers of railroad freight cars through their purchase of the former Midvale Steel and Ordinance CompanyMidvale Steel
Midvale Steel was a succession of steel-making corporations whose flagship plant was the Midvale Steel Works at Nicetown, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which operated from 1867 until 1976...
, whose railcar division was at Johnstown
Johnstown, Pennsylvania
Johnstown is a city in Cambria County, Pennsylvania, United States, west-southwest of Altoona, Pennsylvania and east of Pittsburgh. The population was 20,978 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Metropolitan Statistical Area, which includes Cambria County...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. Despite its status as a major integrated steel maker, Bethlehem Steel Freight Car Division pioneered the use of aluminum in freight car construction. The Johnstown plant was purchased from Bethlehem Steel through a management buyout in 1991, creating Johnstown America Industries.
American landmarks
Eugene GraceEugene Grace
Eugene Gifford Grace was the president of Bethlehem Steel Corporation from 1916 to 1945, and chairman of the board from 1945 until his retirement in 1957...
was president of Bethlehem Steel from 1916 to 1945, and chairman of the board from 1945 until his retirement in 1957. During Grace's tenure the company manufactured the steel for many of the country's most prominent landmarks:
- Bridges:
- George Washington BridgeGeorge Washington BridgeThe George Washington Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Hudson River, connecting the Washington Heights neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City to Fort Lee, Bergen County, New Jersey. Interstate 95 and U.S. Route 1/9 cross the river via the bridge. U.S...
- Golden Gate BridgeGolden Gate BridgeThe Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, the structure links the city of San Francisco, on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to...
- George Washington Bridge
- Buildings:
- Chrysler BuildingChrysler BuildingThe Chrysler Building is an Art Deco style skyscraper in New York City, located on the east side of Manhattan in the Turtle Bay area at the intersection of 42nd Street and Lexington Avenue. Standing at , it was the world's tallest building for 11 months before it was surpassed by the Empire State...
- Empire State BuildingEmpire State BuildingThe Empire State Building is a 102-story landmark skyscraper and American cultural icon in New York City at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and West 34th Street. It has a roof height of 1,250 feet , and with its antenna spire included, it stands a total of 1,454 ft high. Its name is derived...
(Bethlehem supplied some very large structurals only. Building was built by the American Bridge Division of US Steel, using steel manufactured by US Steel.) - Madison Square GardenMadison Square GardenMadison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the New York City borough of Manhattan and located at 8th Avenue, between 31st and 33rd Streets, situated on top of Pennsylvania Station.Opened on February 11, 1968, it is the...
- Merchandise MartMerchandise MartWhen opened in 1930, the Merchandise Mart or the Merch Mart, located in the Near North Side, Chicago, Illinois, was the largest building in the world with of floor space. Previously owned by the Marshall Field family, the Mart centralized Chicago's wholesale goods business by consolidating vendors...
- Rockefeller CenterRockefeller CenterRockefeller Center is a complex of 19 commercial buildings covering between 48th and 51st streets in New York City, United States. Built by the Rockefeller family, it is located in the center of Midtown Manhattan, spanning the area between Fifth Avenue and Sixth Avenue. It was declared a National...
- Alcatraz IslandAlcatraz IslandAlcatraz Island is an island located in the San Francisco Bay, offshore from San Francisco, California, United States. Often referred to as "The Rock" or simply "Traz", the small island was developed with facilities for a lighthouse, a military fortification, a military prison, and a Federal...
- Chrysler Building
- Dams:
- Bonneville DamBonneville DamBonneville Lock and Dam consists of several run-of-the-river dam structures that together complete a span of the Columbia River between the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington at River Mile 146.1. The dam is located east of Portland, Oregon, in the Columbia River Gorge. The primary functions of...
- Grand Coulee DamGrand Coulee DamGrand Coulee Dam is a gravity dam on the Columbia River in the U.S. state of Washington built to produce hydroelectric power and provide irrigation. It was constructed between 1933 and 1942, originally with two power plants. A third power station was completed in 1974 to increase its energy...
- Hoover DamHoover DamHoover Dam, once known as Boulder Dam, is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, on the border between the US states of Arizona and Nevada. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936 during the Great Depression and was dedicated on September 30, 1935, by President...
- Bonneville Dam
- Railways:
- San Francisco Municipal RailwaySan Francisco Municipal RailwayThe San Francisco Municipal Railway is the public transit system for the city and county of San Francisco, California. In 2006, it served with an operating budget of about $700 million...
- San Francisco Municipal Railway
Bethlehem Steel fabricated the largest electric generator shaft in the world, produced for General Electric
General Electric
General Electric Company , or GE, is an American multinational conglomerate corporation incorporated in Schenectady, New York and headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, United States...
in the 1950s.
See also
- Alfred HuntAlfred Hunt (steel magnate)Alfred Hunt was the first president of Bethlehem Iron Company, precursor of Bethlehem Steel Corporation. He was elected president on July 15, 1860 by the board of directors of the fledgling Bethlehem Iron Company...
- Allentown (song)Allentown (song)"Allentown" is a song by American singer Billy Joel, which first appeared on Joel's The Nylon Curtain album, accompanied by a conceptual music video. It later appeared on Joel's Greatest Hits: Volume II , 2000 Years: The Millennium Concert , The Essential Billy Joel , and "12 Gardens Live" albums...
- Asa PackerAsa PackerAsa Packer was an American businessman who pioneered railroad construction, was active in Pennsylvania politics, and founded Lehigh University.-Early life:...
- Bethlehem Steel F.C.Bethlehem Steel F.C.Bethlehem Steel Football Club was one of the most successful early American soccer clubs. Known as the Bethlehem Football Club from 1911 until 1915 when it became the Bethlehem Steel Football Club, the team was sponsored by the Bethlehem Steel corporation and played their home games first at East...
- Charles M. SchwabCharles M. SchwabCharles Michael Schwab was an American steel magnate. Under his leadership, Bethlehem Steel became the second largest steel maker in the United States, and one of the most important heavy manufacturers in the world....
- Eugene GraceEugene GraceEugene Gifford Grace was the president of Bethlehem Steel Corporation from 1916 to 1945, and chairman of the board from 1945 until his retirement in 1957...
- Joseph WhartonJoseph WhartonJoseph Wharton was a prominent Philadelphia merchant, industrialist and philanthropist, who was involved in mining, manufacturing and education...
- List of preserved historic blast furnaces
- Martin TowerMartin TowerThe Martin Tower is the tallest building in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania and the greater Lehigh Valley. The building has 21 stories and is tall, 8 feet taller than the PPL Building in Allentown. The building is located on Eighth Avenue in Bethlehem, just north of the interchange with Pennsylvania...
For further reading
- Warren, Kenneth. Bethlehem Steel: Builder and Arsenal of America. Pittsburgh, Pa.:University of Pittsburgh PressUniversity of Pittsburgh PressThe University of Pittsburgh Press is a scholarly publishing house and a major American university press, part of the University of Pittsburgh. The university and the press are located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the United States....
, 2008. ISBN 0-8229-4323-9
External links
- Corporate website (Internet Archive snapshot from 2000-12-03)
- "The Sinking of Bethlehem Steel", Fortune magazine, April 5, 2004.
- "Forging America: The History of Bethlehem Steel", The (Allentown) Morning Call.
- "Beyond Steel: An Archive of Lehigh Valley Industry and Culture", a Lehigh University site containing oral histories, photographs, books, and letters.
- abandonedamerica.org Photos of Bethlehem Steel Ruins
- http://www.archdaily.com/170936/the-bethlehem-steel-corporation-spillman-farmer-architects/
- http://www.architectmagazine.com/cultural-projects/artsquest-center-at-steelstacks.aspx
- Bethlehem Steel photo essay by Lindsay Blair Brown, October 2011.