For the entire 20th century, the Bethlehem Steel Company was one of the powerhouses of the American economy. The steel produced here literally built much of America, and it was the economic anchor around which Pennsylvania’s entire economy revolved. Then, by the end of the 80’s, the steel industry here was gone. All that remained was the massive rusting hulk of what had once been one of the busiest manufacturing plants in the world.

Today, the Bethlehem Steel plant, in Bethlehem PA along the Lehigh River, is a tourist museum. Raised walkways give visitors access around the ruins, while interpretive signs explain what each machine did. It is a monument to American decline.

Here are some photos from a visit.

The museum

The massive flywheels

Iron ore and coke were brought in by train

The holding bins

These conveyors carried coke and iron ore to the top of the blast furnace

The blast furnace melted the ore and produced liquid steel

A series of pipes carried hot air for the blast furnaces and directed molten steel where it was needed

Workers often welded their initials onto the catwalks

The hot steel was channeled to the Finishing Building where it was extruded, milled and shaped, and made ready for shipping