The legendary Bethlehem Steel Corporation was the second largest steel company in the United States. The company began in 1857 as the Saucona Iron Company, and through the years was known as The Bethlehem Rolling Mill and Iron Company, The Bethlehem Iron Company, and finally in 1899 assumed the name Bethlehem Steel Company. Construction on the first blast furnace in Southside Bethlehem began in 1861, and started operating in 1863. One of the first machine shops was completed in 1865, and a second blast furnace went into operation in 1867. During World War I and World War II, Bethlehem Steel produced armor plate and ordnance for the U.S. armed forces, and the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation’s 15 shipyards produced over 1,100 ships, more than any other builder during the war.
As foreign firms began importing cheaper steel in the 1970s, Bethlehem Steel was forced to begin closing plants. New competition and less demand continued through the 1990s, and in 1995 Bethlehem Steel ceased steel making at the Bethlehem plant. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2001, and in 2003 all of Bethlehem Steel’s assets were sold to International Steel Group.
In 2007, Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem purchased the Bethlehem property. Construction began that spring, and the casino opened on May 22, 2009. A hotel, event center and shopping mall will open in a later phase. Other plans to rejuvenate the Southside Bethlehem property include Steel Stacks, a community project led by ArtsQuest, PBS, and the National Museum of Industrial History.
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