Martin Tower Bethlehem Pa. Down she comes.
May 20, 2019 09:22:44 #
It is both sad to see and hard to look away Hal. 2 of my uncles worked for Bethlehem Steel many years ago.
May 20, 2019 10:12:55 #
alliebess
Loc: suburban Philadelphia
Great series, Hal. Watched this on the news last night and commentator said building went down in 15 seconds.
May 20, 2019 11:04:10 #
May 20, 2019 11:43:53 #
Hal81 wrote:
This was the office building for the once great Bethlehem Steel Co. It set empty for the last 13 years. The new developer of the ground wants to build something else there. I though I needed to record it for our archives
Many thanks, had lived in the LHV for many years.
May 20, 2019 11:49:21 #
May 20, 2019 11:52:14 #
Hal81 wrote:
This was the office building for the once great Bethlehem Steel Co. It set empty for the last 13 years. The new developer of the ground wants to build something else there. I though I needed to record it for our archives
Now this is a story telling series if ever there was one! Well done,Hal.
May 20, 2019 13:13:25 #
Hmmm. Nice, but seem to be taken from the TV screen and CBS's broadcast! Living in the Lehigh Vally since that tower was built, it was a bittersweet moment in time. The final end-of-an-era!
May 20, 2019 16:08:05 #
May 20, 2019 19:18:05 #
These shots remind me of what we once had in the middle of our RR yard in downtown Sioux Falls, South Dakota. It was a grain elevator that was owned by Zip Feeds, it was about 8 stories tall, and the city wanted to demolish it. It had been there for about 50 or 60 years before the city decided that they wanted to get rid of it, it was empty and no longer in use. But it was well built. I withstood a number of blows from a wrecking ball, before the demolition company decided to try taking it down with explosives. And down she went!
May 20, 2019 19:41:19 #
May 20, 2019 19:56:54 #
Hal81 wrote:
This was the office building for the once great Bethlehem Steel Co. It set empty for the last 13 years. The new developer of the ground wants to build something else there. I though I needed to record it for our archives
Hi, Hal,
I appreciated this series of images, both those from on-site and from TV. My grandad started working for Bethlehem Steel as a foundry man in the “gun shops” in 1915 and retired from the the metallurgy contact dept in 1961. We lived in Bethlehem after “The War” from ‘46 to ‘47 (on Maple St, across the river from the plant)..and I just don’t remember the Martin Tower. Can you recall when it was built? Gotta admit, it’s hard, even after all this span of years, to realize that “Bethlumsteel” actually “went under”. I can still close my eyes and see the Christmas lights, The tree on the bridge, and the star on South Mountain.
Wow! Did mention of Beth.Steel ever unleash a ton of memories!
Dave
May 20, 2019 20:57:19 #
Uuglypher wrote:
.... My grandad started working for Bethlehem Steel as a foundry man in the “gun shops” in 1915 and retired from the the metallurgy contact dept in 1961. ...
It's a small world.
My father started working for Bethlehem Steel at about the same time after graduating from Columbia. He retired in 1960 after working for them in Brooklyn, Mexico, Cuba, West Virginia and once more in Cuba (Bethlehem Cuba Iron Mines Company) from 1945 through 1960. My own first job as an engineer in 1966 was with Bethlehem Steel's Marmoraton Mining Company in Ontario after a 6 week orientation (the Loop Course) in Bethlehem. But I stayed with them for only a year before finding a job with Kodak in Rochester.
The Bethlehem corporate office was a marvel to visit. When you arrived for an appointment you were escorted by a uniformed page to your destination. The corporate dining rooms were elegant. But my favorite rooms were the beautiful displays of large model ships - as good as the warship displays in the National Museum of the United States Navy in Washington.
May 20, 2019 23:03:06 #
Uuglypher wrote:
Hi, Hal, br I appreciated this series of images, b... (show quote)
The Tree on the Bridge and the Bethlehem Star are still there, but the Star is now lit every night. When I came to the area in 1972 the building was opened. Some of my fellow Lehigh students tell me it was built from about 69 to 72, when it opened.
May 20, 2019 23:25:59 #
Sounds about right. I was in college when it started and working as a salesman in ‘72. I was unaware of the significance of this building at the time, as well as their large hilltop research center. At least Lehigh University now has the research center.
May 20, 2019 23:51:00 #
CWGordon wrote:
Sounds about right. I was in college when it started and working as a salesman in ‘72. I was unaware of the significance of this building at the time, as well as their large hilltop research center. At least Lehigh University now has the research center.
Not only did I graduate from Lehigh but I worked for Lehigh for 37 years, retiring in 2014. I was on the team that integrated the purchase of the Homer Research facility into the Lehigh campus. It was, and is, a great addition.
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