Bethlehem Steel Lackawanna Plant
The facade of the Beaux-Arts Bethlehem Steel administration building in Lackawanna, NY
Updated December 10, 2019 | By Matthew Christopher
The Lackawanna, NY branch of Bethlehem Steel was started in the mid 19th century as an iron forge by the Scranton brothers in a Pennsylvania town that would come to be named after them. Despite some gruesome incidents with labor strikes due to frequent pay cuts, the company prospered and became the second largest producer of iron in the United States.
Around the turn of the century the Lackawanna Iron and Steel Company decided to move operations to the suburbs of Buffalo in an effort to reduce labor costs and to ship materials via the Great Lakes. The mill started construction in 1900. The town and Beaux Arts administration building followed in 1901. In 1902 the company became Lackawanna Steel Company, the largest in the world, although that title was swiftly usurped by U.S. Steel. The mill started operations with 6,000 workers in 1903 and the property in Scranton was sold for scrap.
Union struggles followed Lackawanna Steel to New York, as did financial difficulties. Bethlehem bought out Lackawanna steel in 1922 and spent $40 million on plant updates over the next decade. At its height it was the world's largest steel factory and an employed over 20,000 workers producing steel plates for the military and beams used in the Empire State Building and Golden Gate Bridge.
Overseas competition and Bethlehem Steel's distaste for New York taxes and environmental regulations led to Lackawanna Steel's obsolescence. It was replaced by another facility in Indiana and closed in 1982, leaving a polluted 1,000 acre Superfund site in its wake. While some active industries remain, much of the plant was torn down.
The collapsed grand staircase in Bethlehem Steel's administration building
The administration building, where most of these photographs were taken, was known for its ornate pediments, copper trimmed dormers, and columns and was designed by Lansing C. Holden. It was left to the elements by its owner, Gateway Trade Center Inc., for nearly thirty years with no effort to maintain it or protect it from the elements. Despite one of the best preservation campaigns I've seen, which had detailed proposals for reuse, a sizeable grant, and the involvement of several experts in rehabilitation of similar sites, Lackawanna Mayor Geoffrey Szymanski and Gateway Trade were determined to tear down the one of last intact remnants of the company that built their town. As in many cases, the structure itself was blamed and called blight and an eyesore, while the fact that the owner neglected it and the town allowed it to be neglected were conveniently ignored. In court the Lackawanna Industrial Heritage Group demonstrated that the owner and city withheld documents showing that the building was structurally sound and The Campaign for Buffalo - History Architecture & Culture, Inc. delayed demolition by showing that no environmental reviews were performed. Nonetheless, the building was destroyed in January 2013. The demolition crews deliberately went for the ornamental architectural features that made the building special first so that if orders were given to halt the demolition there would be nothing left to save.
The loss of the administration building was a heartbreaking event. Seeing the grief of the people who had worked so hard to preserve it and wanted so badly to return it to a functioning part of the community was wrenching, as was watching videos of construction equipment ripping apart a place I had loved so much. Some of the interior areas (like the infamous main staircase) made it appear that the building was in much worse condition than it really was. The town of Lackawanna got its name and its foundation from the steel plant. Now when people want to know about the heritage of the area, there will be little in terms of tangible objects or places to show them.
Lackawanna Steel is a chapter in my book, Abandoned America: Age of Consequences.
Buy a signed copy via this link or get it on Amazon using the link below to read more!
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