Bethlehem Steel: Rusting Relic

In 2001, the unthinkable happened when Bethlehem Steel declared bankruptcy after nearly a century and a half of making iron and steel for bridges, buildings, dams, railroad rail, ships, armor plating, armaments, and numerous other products.

When the flagship plant in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, closed, it sat abandoned for some years before the hallowed site was repurposed with a casino, hotel, restaurants, and shops.

During the time in between, Steven M. Landis had rare, sanctioned access to photograph the derelict plant, capturing incredible photography of many never-before-seen and likely never-to-be-seen-again perspectives by climbing everything he could, both inside and outside the abandoned buildings, including to the top of the blast furnaces.

When combined with his artistic eye, the viewers will find that Steven's camerawork truly elevates Bethlehem Steel photography. His dad, John K. Landis, subsequently became an Historic Bethlehem Museums and Sites tour guide in 2019 and began showing those photographs - published here for the first time - to visitors in order to reveal sections of the shuttered plant that were inaccessible or altogether gone.

John wrote the accompanying text after hosting hundreds of Bethlehem Steel plant tours.