Bethlehem Steel

We just took a trip to Allentown for our Patriot's Day holiday weekend (only available in MA and ME, heheh).

I was looking at maps and tourist listings, hoping to find something to do with steel, but all I could find was a concrete museum and the usual shopping centers. So, I decided to drive down to the waterfront and see if I could find anything. Cruising around Allentown, I found some derelict buildings and a bad neighborhood, but not much else, so I turned East towards Bethlehem.

From the top of some hill, I could see it: the old furnaces. Ohmigod! Now to drive towards it...holy frijole, this place is huge, what is it, like, two miles long? Let's find a place to park. Over the bridge and into one of the nicest historic neighborhoods I've seen in a long time. Well, first things first, let's go over to the steel mills.

It would be a great place to take night photography, if it wasn't all fenced in. The furnace looks like the engine that moved the Earth. And, indeed, it did.

Only one sound greeted us as we walked closer, the sound of two men separating scrap metal for recycling. I can't make up this kind of irony.

It seemed like a ghost town, and another couple agreed with this sentiment, taking many photographs. "Get it while you can, it won't be here long", the man said. It was like seeing a fallen giant, once a mighty force now silent, the forces of time wielding their powers across the various structures. Parking lots, once lined with manicured trees and shrubs, now sat crumbling, leaves and trash strewn about.

Back across the bridge was the old town, with beautifully cared-for homes and lovely tree-lined streets. Yet, somehow, I was drawn more to the rusting hulk across the Lehigh River.

[Mark Sedenquist]

Timbo,

Sounds like quite a roadtrip adventure. We had a similar experience when we stopped by the old Marion Powershovel works a few years ago. We were offered the chance to stay overnight (reputed to have several on-site ghosts on guard duty) on our next pass by, but could never get it arranged and now the property is more or less unavailable.

Mark

Yes, I took some photos...I still haven't developed the frozen ocean pics from February (some of these pics are on that roll).

I'm hoping the quality will be good, I don't have anything other than the stock lens (non-zoom), and I didn't want to go beyond the fence (though some kids were in there).

Mark - sent you an email with a link to a couple of pics from Feb. and a couple from April. That film was from last October!

[Mark Sedenquist]

Timbo,

Yep. I know, been meaning to write back. Maybe Monday.