A Vehicle for Conserving and Intrepreting Our Recent Industrial Heritage

Home , 1932 Ford

Constance C. Bodurow A Vehicle for Conserving and Interpreting Our Recent Industrial Heritage

Industry—the source of every evil and every good— becomes the true protagonist in the transformation of the city.1

Introduction he U.S. National Park Service (NPS) has served, for the last century, as the lead agency for the conservation and interpretation of America’s natural and cultural heritage. While the NPS has addressed 18th- and T19th-century industry, our more recent industrial heritage presents unique challenges because of the scale of the resources and the inherent conflicts of the stories—the societal and environmental impacts generated, both positive and negative. This nationally and internationally significant heritage moves beyond textile mills and canals to include basic and manufacturing industries, such as steel, automotive, and mining—industries that employ millions of Amer- icans, and have changed the face of the nation and the world. My central thesis is that 20th-cen- are attempting to address industrial tury industry has left an indelible mark themes and resources that convey this on the American consciousness, iden- transcendentally important heritage. tity, heritage, and landscape; and that America’s 20th-century industries— our nation, NPS, and its partners have particularly the automobile and steel not yet done an effective job in con- industries—transformed not only serving and interpreting the nation’s America, but also the entire world. nationally and internationally signifi- These resources and their embedded cant industrial resources. This, stories are a source of pride, commu- despite the presence of resources that nity identity, innovation, and beauty meet NPS designation criteria for sig- for our nation (Figure 1). The oppor- nificance, stories that are directly rele- tunities are ripe and time is of the vant to tens of millions of Americans essence, as we are losing significant and international visitors (NPS’s con- resources to the inevitable march of stituents), and the potential for revital- technological evolution, industrial ization partnerships with the nation’s modernization, and abandonment, largest corporations. Fortunately, sev- and an entire generation of Americans eral national heritage areas (NHAs) has grown up without knowledge of

68 The George Wright FORUM Figure 1. Above: Criss Cross Conveyors, by Charles Sheeler, 1932 (The Henry Ford, Benson Ford Archives. Below: Sheeler Redux, by Jett Lowe, 2001 (Historic American Engineering Record, Library of Congress).

Volume 20 • Number 2 2003 69 the role of manufacturing. embrace their industrial resources, as they do with their historic residential Context infrastructure. But the European con- The industrial landscape is conservation and re-use ethic cannot stantly becoming obsolete. Each era merely be explained by its being con- brings another paradigm shift in man- fined to a limited geographic area. It ufacturing techniques and technolo- represents an entrenched ethic of put- gies, manifesting themselves physical- ting the cultural landscape into a con- ly and geographically in the world. tinuous cycle of use. European nations This is increasing true in the 20th and have also actively sought international 21st centuries, as technological recognition of their industrial advancements and the globalization of resources. UNESCO (United Nations industries accelerate. But the industri- Educational, Scientific, and Cultural al landscape is a wellspring of memo- Organization) recognizes the signifi- ry, and therefore a powerful force for cance of industrial heritage as an learning and change. The heritage of important aspect of world civilization, such sites, and their associated archi- stating: “Industrial sites are important tecture and infrastructure, can and milestones in the history of humanity, have been utilized as a basis for revital- marking humankind’s dual power of ization, both in an economic and cul- destruction and creation that engen- tural sense, regaining valid meaning ders both nuisances and progress. for contemporary society. Beyond They embody the hope of a better life, their infrastructure and location value, and the ever-greater power over mat- these sites contain tremendous infor- ter.”5 To date, 33 industrial sites have mation and cultural value, as I argued been designated as World Heritage in my master’s thesis, “Rethinking the Sites in Europe, South America, and Industrial Landscape: The Future of Asia. Despite the obvious internation- the Ford Rouge Complex,”2 and rep- al significance of our recent industrial resent, as Spiro Kostof said, “bench- heritage, none have been nominated marks of an excelling vision.”3 by or designated in the United States. The United Kingdom is credited as European the first country to celebrate and invest Trends and Precedents4 in industrial heritage. Since the 1970s, Europe provides over 30 years of the U.K. has established the Heritage experience in projects dealing with the Lottery Fund and the SITA Environ- recent industrial past, characterized by mental Trust to provide grants to sup- partnerships and investment by both port a wide range of local, regional, the public and private sectors. As the and national heritage projects.6 The U.S. was celebrating its bicentennial, project that launched the movement in Europe was already conserving and the U.K. was Ironbridge Gorge, Coal- interpreting their 20th-century indus- brookdale, England, significant as the trial heritage. It may seem natural for site of the world’s first iron bridge, the countries that live with thousands of birthplace of the industrial revolution, years of built heritage to easily and designated as a World Heritage

70 The George Wright FORUM Site in 1986. Since 1971, nine sites Welland and Lachine canal projects. have been developed along the Severn Since then, the Canadian government River, and over £20 million have been has invested millions in restoration raised for preservation and interpreta- and interpretation, including the cre- tion. European examples of conserva- ation of linear parks and adjacent tion of 20th-century industrial neighborhood revitalization.8 The resources are identified in Table 1. trend began later in the United States, a nation whose citizenry did not North American embrace historic preservation until its Trends and Precedents bicentennial in 1976. Fewer than 10% In the 1980s, the Canadian govern- of the 2,400 national historic land- ment, through Parks Canada, began marks (NHLs) in the U.S. relate to embracing industrial heritage with the industrial production processes, busi-

Table 1. European precedents addressing 20th-century industry. Project / Year Initiated/Lead Significance Conservation of Location Resources Fiat Lingotto 1988–1995. Fiat SPA Fiat's main factory, built in The Lingotto, redesigned / Turin, Italy initiated an 1914, and modeled on by Renzo Piano, now international design Henry Ford and Albert serves as a university, competition, and Kahn's Highland Park Plant offices, auditorium, hotel, provided investment and retail center La Halle 1988. The city of 1909 slaughterhouse and The remaining facility Tony Lyon, the owner, World War II ammunition (700 feet long, 200,000 Garnier / decided to rehabilitate factory was part of a larger square feet in area) to Lyon, France complex that was host concerts, exhibits, demolished in the 1970s conventions, and sports events, similar to Halle de la Villette in Paris Emscher 1989. IBA was The Ruhr Valley has long Seven master plans have Park—The established by the state been the industrial been developed, linking International of North-Rhine- heartland of Germany, 19 sites. Close to 100 Building Westphalia to fueling the country's projects are currently Exhibition coordinate the military and economic underway, from re-use of (IBA) / Ruhr ecological and prowess through the 1970s industrial buildings to Valley, economic renewal of land reclamation and Germany the then-depressed neighborhood and Ruhr district, with 2 housing development million residents Volklingen 1986. In that year, A World Heritage Site, In 1999, the European Ironworks / furnaces went out of Volklingen is the only intact Center of Industrial Art Saarland, production, and in example in Western Europe and Culture opened on Germany 1992 Saarland began and North America of an site redevelopment integrated ironworks built and equipped in the 19th and 20th centuries Tate Modern 1981. In that year, the Former Bankside Power The building has been (art museum) power station closed. Station, built in two phases adaptively re-used to / London, In 2000, the U.K. from 1947–1963 house the Tate Modern England — Millennium Collection. In 2001, the south bank of Commission publicly museum drew over 5 the River funded the million visitors Thames rehabilitation

Volume 20 • Number 2 2003 71 ness, energy, or extraction/mining several other NPS units interpret U.S. themes.9 In addition, only 4 of 388 18th- and 19th-century industrial her- National Park System units deal with itage. During the 1990s, NPS began to 20th-century industrial or labor consider 20th-century and World War themes.10 Moreover, recent efforts to II-era industrial resources for inclu- gain designation for industrial sites sion in the system. NPS units and affil- have been met with NPS resistance— iated areas that address 20th-century largely due to issues of feasibility and industrial and labor history are identi- cost.11 fied in Table 2.14 In 1991, Congress The Historic American Engineer- authorized NPS to conduct a NHL ing Record (HAER) was established theme study on American labor histo- in 1969 by NPS, the American Society ry. The purpose of the Labor History of Civil Engineers, and the Library of Theme Study was to identify key sites Congress. HAER reflects “the Federal in American labor history; nominate Government’s concern for the as NHLs those districts, sites, build- destruction of American’s industrial ings, and structures that best illustrate and engineering heritage, and the need or commemorate that history; and for a well-informed assessment as a prepare a list of most appropriate sites basis for deciding what should be pre- for “possible park units.” Twelve years served.”12 Since 1969, HAER has later, the study is in Phase IV and has documented close to 2,000 buildings, yet to be submitted to Congress for sites, and structures, though a large further direction.15 percentage of the resources docu- In 1984, U.S. Congress designated mented have been since lost. Both the the first NHA—the Illinois and Michi- Rouge Complex and Homestead/Car- gan Canal near Chicago. NHAs were rie (described below) have been docu- conceived of as being a partnership mented by HAER. between NPS and the local communi- The NPS began embracing U.S. ty to extend the NPS mission of industrial heritage with the designa- resource preservation and interpretation in 1978 of the Lowell National tion without direct ownership and Historical Park in Lowell, Massachu- management.16 While many of the setts. Lowell commemorates Ameri- twenty-three NHAs designated to date ca’s industrial revolution, 19th-centu- deal with pre-20th-century industrial ry industrialization through the early resources and stories, there are cur- textile industry, and themes of immi- rently only two nationally designated gration and urbanization.13 Over 4 NHAs that are defined by 20th-centu- million square feet of vacant mill space ry industrial and labor heritage and and 5.6 miles of canals have been revi- focus on the re-use and interpretation talized since designation—both as of resources of national importance.17 NPS visitor sites and through other These NHAs still possess, intrinsic to public and private institutional, resi- their cultural landscapes, 20th-centu- dential, and commercial development. ry “living industries.” Two of the best Lowell, the Blackstone River Valley in examples of this are within the bound- Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and aries of the MotorCities–Automobile

72 The George Wright FORUM Table 2. NPS units addressing 20th-century industry and labor.

Park Unit / Significance Conservation of Resources Location / Year Designated Wrangell–St. Elias Kennecott Mines are one of The dilapidated state of resources has NP&Pres the largest and most intact limited public access, interpretation, and (Kennecott Mines) / abandoned copper mining conservation efforts Kennecott, Alaska / enclaves in the United States 1980 (Kennecott NHL 1986) Keweenaw NHP / Interprets copper mining and Keweenaw is a partnership park and Calumet and processing and its effects on virtually all land and buildings within the vicinity, Michigan / settlement in Michigan’s park boundary remain privately owned. 1992 Upper Peninsula. The period Calumet & Hecla Library and General of significance for its Office buildings have been adaptively re- resources runs from 1840 used to serve as park headquarters; Quincy until 1968 Mine Pay Office serves as office space; Quincy Mine Shafthouse #2 is operated by park partners as a historical attraction Rosie the Riveter / Former Henry Kaiser Rosie is a partnership park; most of its 14 World War II Shipyards, buildings and sites sites are city- or privately owned, and will Home Front NHP / associated with the industrial, remain so, coordinating adaptive re-use Richmond, governmental, and citizen with the NPS. The park includes a California / 2000 efforts that led to victory in 561,000-square-foot, Albert Kahn- World War II. None of the designed Ford Assembly Building. This resources within the park are structure and its oil house are undergoing NHLs, though several are on adaptive re-use by local partners. Many the National Register park resources will retain their original uses Port Chicago Naval Site of an explosion on July Port Chicago is an affiliated area of the Magazine National 17, 1944, that killed 320 National Park System and remains an U.S. Memorial / men, 202 of whom were Naval base. Visits must be arranged in Concord Naval African American enlisted advance and require an U.S. Navy escort Weapons Station, men. The incident sparked for entry to the site, making it of limited California, on the protests that led to the interpretive value to the general public Sacramento River / military’s end to racial 1992 inequality after World War II

NHA (MotorCities–ANHA) and in a 10,000-square mile, 13-county Rivers of Steel NHA, respectively: area in southeastern and central Detroit, still the capital of the global Michigan. Telling the nationally signif- automobile industry on which one in icant story of the American automo- seven U.S. jobs depends; and Pitts- bile industry,the Automobile National burgh, still the headquarters of the Heritage Area Partnership, Inc., man- U.S. steel industry. ages MotorCities–ANHA through a cooperative agreement with NPS. The Ford Rouge Complex MotorCities–ANHA’s mission is to MotorCities–ANHA was designat- preserve, interpret, and promote ed by Congress in 1998, and is located Michigan’s rich automotive and labor

Volume 20 • Number 2 2003 73 heritage in ways that are meaningful nings on remote farmland and marsh and relevant to contemporary society. in 1917, Henry Ford and architect Within the MotorCities–ANHA Albert Kahn’s joint vision for the boundaries lie over 1,200 document- Rouge quickly eclipsed their revolu- ed 20th- century industrial and labor tionary Highland Park facility, inherit- history resources, 16 of which are ed its assembly line, and grew to NHLs. A key resource and NHL, the become the largest manufacturing Ford Rouge Complex, serves as a case complex in the world, with, at its peak, study. 15 million square feet under roof (Fig- The story and significance of the ure 2). The self-proclaimed “industri- Rouge. The Ford Motor Company al city” was admired, imitated, por- (FMC) Rouge Complex is located on trayed, and visited by millions of 1,200 acres along the banks of the industrialists, dignitaries, artists, Rouge River18 in Dearborn, Michigan. designers, architects, and tourists from The dense urban context of the Rouge every corner of the world. By the is metropolitan Detroit, home to 4.6 1930s, artists such as Diego Rivera million residents, and a historically and Charles Sheeler captured Ford’s mixed industrial, residential, and com- immense facility and Kahn’s architec- mercial district—including the exten- tural innovation, their images pub- sive FMC campus. Throughout its 86- lished and communicated around the year history the Rouge has served as world. There are few other sites in the the centerpiece of the regional auto- world that are so charged with historic motive economy in southeastern and cultural meaning; which are of sig- Michigan and automotive manufactur- nificance at a local, national, and inter- ing in the U.S. From modest begin- national level; and where the juxtapo-

Figure 2. Ford Rouge Plant, circa 1930 (Ford Motor Company Archives).

74 The George Wright FORUM sition of 20th- and 21st-century and its utilities along Road 4. In the industrial landscape and technology early 1990s, community advocacy for meet.19 the conservation of the Rouge NHL The Rouge grew out of Ford’s per- began, and it became a key resource in sonal obsession with industrial self- the community’s argument for the sufficiency. Here he perfected the designation of the Automobile Nation- “vertical manufacturing” approach, al Heritage Area. bringing in raw materials—iron ore, Plans for re-use and interpreta- coal, limestone, sand—via water, road, tion. FMC began its “Rouge Heritage and rail, then converting them into 2000” master plan on May 3, 1999, steel, parts, components, and, ulti- when FMC Chairman and Chief mately,automobiles at a rate of 10,000 Executive Officer William Clay Ford, per day. Hourly employment at the Jr., announced at the National Earth Rouge rose to over 98,000 in 1929.20 Day celebration, “If there is a symbol But at the time, employment with of the Ford Motor Company, it’s the FMC was not all privilege, and the Rouge. For us to walk away would Rouge became the site of several sig- have been an absolute crime.... [W]e nificant labor actions, including the just can’t keep moving on and build- 1932 Ford Hunger Strike and the ing new sites.”23 Since that time, FMC 1937 Battle of the Overpass, which has committed $2 billion to transform catapulted labor leader Walter the icon of 20th-century industrialism Reuther and the United Auto Workers into an icon of 21st-century sustain- into the national spotlight and led to able manufacturing. The project has a the unionization of FMC by 1941. clear environmental agenda, with The NHL district designation of the improvement of the site’s natural and Rouge occurred in 1978, concluding work environments taking precedence “the Rouge signally worthy because of over the Rouge’s nationally significant its unique nature and its vital contri- cultural resources. In 2000, FMC butions to improved manufacturing retained William McDonough24 and techniques.”21 By the 1980s, the glob- subconsultants to create the five-year alization of the auto industry and master plan, which includes the con- national recession caused FMC to re- struction of a new 1.6-million-square- evaluate the central role of their his- foot Dearborn Truck Plant (DTP), toric facility. In 1985, Ford Land featuring flexible manufacturing, ener- Development created a plan entitled gy and waste efficiency, roof-top mon- Rouge Complex: An Outline for Order- itors for natural sunlight, a 10.4-acre ly Evolution, based on the assumption living roof (the world’s largest), and that a number of plants within the greatly improved working conditions complex would be phased out for rea- on the plant floor. The DTP will sons of obsolescence or as a result of replace the historic Dearborn Assem- the company’s approach to bringing bly Plant (DAP) on site, producing F- products to the market.22 In 1989, a 150 series pick-up trucks. Other site consortium of four companies pur- features include a new 735,000- chased Rouge Steel, separating the site square-foot body shop, porous pave-

Volume 20 • Number 2 2003 75 ment, stormwater cleaning swales to is intended to be “completely immer- mimic the natural action of wetlands, sive, enveloping the visitor with all the and a 1.5-mile greenbelt along Miller visual and sensory effects of the manu- Road.25 All site improvements will facturing floor.”28 Visitors then take an greatly benefit the water quality of the elevator to a roof-top observation deck Rouge River watershed, once named where, surrounded by glass, they view the largest point-source of pollution in the DTP green roof, a panorama of the the Great Lakes basin. entire plant, the Detroit skyline, and The Ford Rouge Center project has interpretive displays on the environ- evolved into a partnership for the mental features which make the Rouge interpretation of the Rouge and its a model for sustainable manufactur- nationally significant 20th-century ing. Returning down the elevator, visi- industrial heritage. A partnership has tors traverse a walkway to the new been legally contracted between FMC DTP where they enter on the mezza- and The Henry Ford (THF; formerly nine level 18–24 feet above the plant known as the Henry Ford Museum & floor and look down on the operations Greenfield Village) in Dearborn, of the plant. Along the mezzanine Michigan. According to Patricia walkway, interactive video monitors Mooradian, chief operating officer at explain what workers are doing on the THF, the objective of a planned two- plant floor below. Visitors then return hour Ford Rouge Factory Tour to the visitor center and experience a (FRFT) is “to focus on the history of timeline of vehicles that have been manufacturing—manufacturing in made at the Rouge, including the America and the world.”26 Visitors Model A and Mustang. On the return will begin the FRFT at THF,boarding bus trip, visitors view a closing video buses equipped with video monitors with additional information on what to watch a presentation en route to the they can see to round out their experi- Rouge that highlights key landmarks ence. According to Mooradian, “The in Dearborn, including the FMC cam- objective is to give visitors enough to pus. Once at the Rouge, visitors get a whet their palate, then tell them where brief site tour, with a video highlight- they can get more information and ing significant locations on site. Visi- detail, through books, web site links, tors then arrive at a new “state-of-the- etc.”29 art” Rouge Visitor Center next to the Adaptive re-use and interpretation DTP, which FMC has specifically of the historic buildings and infra- designed and built for this purpose.27 structure of the Rouge has been sec- The visitor center features two film ondary to the development of FRFT. experiences: “The Legacy Theatre,” The McDonough master plan shows showing an 11-minute film that high- much of the most significant and intact lights the history of the Rouge, labor, fabric being demolished for new con- and manufacturing, and the “Art of struction, surface parking lots, and Manufacturing,” an overview of con- wetland swales. Last year, perhaps the temporary auto manufacturing. This most seminal industrial building of the 10-minute, multi-sensory experience 20th century—Albert Kahn’s 1923

76 The George Wright FORUM glass plant—was partially demolished have to make “tough but conscious to make way for construction of the decisions as they work their way new body shop. However, under the through the site.”36 Under directive leadership of Timothy O’Brien, vice from the U.S. Environmental Protec- president of corporate relations, FMC tion Agency (EPA), FMC has been is currently restoring the glass plant remediating approximately 30 acres of façade and remaining 570,000 square the Rouge Steel site, south of Road 4 feet. FMC is being meticulous with and west of Miller Road. In coming this remnant, recreating the plant’s years, FMC and Rouge Steel will four signature “stacks,” and identify- address taking down the now-obsolete ing the original manufacturer of the coke ovens and other steel infrastruc- glass in the façade (Crittle) to recreate ture and reprogramming the land. the single-pane steel sash details, but The MotorCities–ANHA general does not yet have a program for the management plan (GMP) includes an facility. O’Brien’s hopes that “once optimistic vision for the Rouge’s his- people within the company see how toric infrastructure, proposing that the fantastic the building is, someone will core of the site—with its most signifi- want it.”30 O’Brien has also led the cant buildings and infrastructure— recreation of the historic Road 4 over- could be reclaimed through adaptive pass, site of the 1937 Battle of the re-use for an on-site interpretive expe- Overpass and named by NPS as one of rience. The GMP advocates using the the top ten labor history sites in the “historic core of the Rouge site to nation.31 A new brick entryway is also enhance the visitor experience ... mak- planned where FMC will site an inter- ing use of the dramatic ‘cultural land- pretive park with waysides to honor scape’ of the Rouge Plant” to create an the decades of workers at the Rouge industrial interpretive park in the man- and serve as a memorial to the Battle of ner of Emscher Park in Germany.37 the Overpass and the 1999 power The proposal features visitors arriving house disaster that claimed six lives.32 via boat or bus, then being Over the next five years, O’Brien “processed” through the site in the hopes to increasingly address the his- same way that raw materials were toric buildings on site, stating that processed into a finished vehicle (Fig- “the biggest challenge is getting the ure 3). The GMP also suggests that corporation to appreciate that the “visitors could be safely guided Rouge is something of significance, through the massive sculptural ele- intrinsic to American culture, and ments of the early Rouge Plant where convincing operating divisions that the blast furnaces, the high line, the adaptive re-use can be of value to foundry and the old coking tower them.”33 Buildings on his list include might be used to expose visitors to the the historic 1922 power house34 and massive scale of this landmark plant the historic 1917 DAP.35 O’Brien and provide interpretive content.”38 reminds us that the Rouge is not a The GMP also emphasizes the Rouge museum, but a functioning manufac- as an important resource and visitor turing plant—and the company will services point in proposals for local

Volume 20 • Number 2 2003 77 Figure 3. Interpretive potentials at the Rouge, 2001 (MotorCities–ANHA). and regional land and water linkages, Wayne County involved with delibera- interpretive waysides, and a heritage tions on the site. To date, MotorCi- ranger program. ties–ANHA has not requested Con- The GMP also called for a special gress to authorize NPS to conduct a resource study to evaluate all of the special resource study. Recently, region’s resources for NPS involve- US/ICOMOS (U.S. Committee for ment, identifying the Rouge is a key the International Council on Monu- focus, given its national significance. ments and Sites) staff suggested that However, the GMP suggests that a MotorCities–ANHA pursue World more innovative designation be Heritage Site designation for the auto explored. A learning center, as identi- industry through either FMC’s High- fied in a recent National Park System land Park or Rouge plants, “before the Advisory Board publication,39 is also Germans, French or Italians beat us to a role recommended for the Rouge, it.”40 given its planned sustainable rebirth Partnerships in planning and and enormous educational value. implementation. FMC has led and Community advocacy for the Rouge borne the cost of the master planning and its nationally significant resources and all new construction and renova- comes primarily through MotorCi- tion at the Rouge, though Wayne ties–ANHA, with several board mem- County partnered on the reconstruc- bers who work for FMC, THF, and tion of Miller Road. FMC turned to its

78 The George Wright FORUM close ally THF to create, operate, and (SIHC) manages Rivers of Steel manage the interpretive experience at through a cooperative agreement with the Rouge. Though separate entities, a NPS. SIHC’s mission is to conserve, Ford family connection remains. interpret, promote, and manage the Henry Ford founded the Edison Insti- historic, cultural, natural, and recre- tute (which became THF) in 1929 to ation resources of steel and related house his extensive collection, and the industries in Rivers of Steel and to board still includes several family develop the use of these resources so members. THF will operate the entire that they may contribute to the revital- interpretive experience, and revenues ization of the region. Within the NHA generated through ticket and mer- boundaries lie several hundred docu- chandise sales go back into the institu- mented 20th-century industrial and tion. labor history resources, perhaps the To assist THF and FMC to reduce most significant of which is the Home- the Rouge’s immense history into a stead/Carrie site. concise story and create the visitor The story and significance of and interpretive experience, THF Homestead/Carrie. The former hired a consultant to lead concept, Homestead Works (Homestead/Car- design, and production. FMC con- rie) is located in Allegheny County on tracted separately with a team of local the banks of the Monongahela River in architects to build the visitor center. southwestern Pennsylvania. Home- Prior to funding the design, an eco- stead/Carrie was the site of some of nomic consultant was contracted with America’s most significant labor histo- to conduct a management resources ry: the “Battle of Homestead” in 1892 feasibility and operations analysis. and the 50-year non-union period in The study determined capacity, flow, the steel industry which followed. operation needs, pricing, and target First established by Andrew Carnegie attendance. THF is estimating and later acquired by U.S. Steel Cor- 125,000–250,000 visitors per year for poration (USX), the operation of the the FRFT.FMC plans to open the vis- integrated plant was pivotal in the itor center as part of the corporation’s development of the American iron and centennial celebration in June 2003, steel industry from 1892 to 1951, though public tours are not scheduled making Pittsburgh the capital of “Big to begin until the spring of 2004. Steel” and influencing steel-making locally, nationally, and internationally. Homestead Works/Carrie The site was the hub of industrial Furnaces development and major technological The Rivers of Steel NHA was des- advances within the steel industry, ignated by Congress in 1996, and is including the “hard driving” method located in a seven-county area in Pitts- of steel-making and the development burgh and southwestern Pennsylva- of techniques for smelting Mesabi nia. Telling the nationally significant ores.41 A primary armor-producing story of “Big Steel” in the U.S, the facility, Homestead/Carrie and the Steel Industry Heritage Corporation workers of the Monongahela Valley

Volume 20 • Number 2 2003 79 produced the steel that helped win reporters who covered the strike. In World Wars I and II. 1999, the Bost Building was designat- Homestead/Carrie is located in and ed the district’s only NHL to date, and adjacent to some of greater Pitts- has since been renovated to serve as burgh’s most severely depressed com- SIHC headquarters, housing archives munities, places that have been affect- and exhibits interpreting the building ed by the downsizing of the steel and events of 1892, and providing industry and its attendant permanent information on the NHA. SIHC plans job losses. Operations at Home- to expand the Bost as a welcome cen- stead/Carrie ceased in 1979 and the ter and gateway to the proposed SIHC has been leading efforts to national historical park and the region, secure both NHL district status and and as the launching point for Monon- the establishment of a national histori- gahela River tours. cal park since 1990. Since closure, the Carrie furnaces 6 and 7 across the integrity of the Homestead/Carrie Monongahela also retain integrity resources has been affected, with its (Figure 4). Built in 1906–1907, they context of abandoned industrial sites are the only remaining pre-World War along the Monongahela undergoing II blast furnaces in the Pittsburgh dis- dramatic redevelopment. Park Corpo- trict. A docking area is planned at the ration recently purchased the Home- Carrie site. The Hot Metal Bridge stead site, demolished the steel mills, linking the two sites retains basic and created a major 360-acre mixed- integrity from 1900–1901 and is cur- use development called the Water- rently interpreted from afar. In the front, covering 80% of the former future, the bridge, one of six of its type works. The nearby Nine Mile remaining in the world, is envisioned Run/Summerset residential develop- as a multi-modal link in the regional ment reclaims a former slag dump, and greenway system. The landing site Frick Park, owned by the city of Pitts- where the battle of 1892 occurred still burgh, plans expansion into the resi- includes the retaining wall and pump dential area. house, currently undergoing renova- Plans for re-use and interpretation for basic visitor amenities. The tion. The Rivers of Steel GMP pro- pump house, where SIHC hopes to poses conservation and interpretation interpret the battle and the rest of site, of the Homestead/Carrie resources, is currently a venue for lectures, with addressing 35 acres of the 160-acre new exhibits planned to open in 2003. site. Portions of the Homestead/Carrie It is also a stop on the Rivers of Steel site from the 1892–1900 period bus tour, and included in a digital remain intact, and a number of proj- driving tour planned for summer of ects identified in the GMP have been 2003.42 implemented. The Bost Building, for- Any individual who has visited an mer headquarters of the Amalgamated operating steel mill knows that it is an Associated Iron and Steel Workers extremely visceral and memorable during the 1892 Homestead lockout experience. There has been “no heat” and strike, also housed the newspaper at Carrie since 1979, so Rivers of Steel

80 The George Wright FORUM Figure 4. Carrie Furnaces, circa 1965 (SIHC). has focused on interpreting the land- rie, but SIHC’s route through the scape and the physical remains of the application and designation process site. The GMP planners proposed a with NPS has not been smooth. In “virtual reality” film so visitors might 1998, SIHC submitted an NHL dis- feel the “heat and the fury” of steel- trict nomination for Homestead/Car- making, without putting people in rie,43 and in 1999 Congress author- harm’s way. There remains the possi- ized NPS to conduct a special bility of offering visitors a separate resources study to determine whether tour of USX’s nearby Edgar Thomp- Homestead/Carrie meets NPS criteria son Works, which are still operating. for national significance, suitability, However, interpretive planning has yet and feasibility in order to be designat- to begin in earnest. Once the Home- ed a unit of the National Park System. stead/Carrie park unit is designated, When the special resources study NPS will have to generate another began, SIHC Chief Executive Officer GMP, including an interpretive August Carlino was told by tNPS that approach to the site. Homestead/Carrie “will not fit at least Partnerships in planning and one category, and that category will implementation. SIHC leads imple- likely be feasibility. Because of the mentation efforts with strong local, scale of the site and the costs associat- county, and state support. The Rivers ed with taking it on—it would likely be of Steel GMP suggested a special turned down.”44 While the NPS spe- resources study for Homestead/Car- cial resources study continues, the

Volume 20 • Number 2 2003 81 designating legislation is going to con- industrial resources do indeed gressional committee. Carlino remains embody significance. Such confident SIHC will gain designation, resources must first be accepted as noting that whatever NPS says or intrinsic to American culture—as does, Congress is the ultimate deter- important to the shaping of the minant in getting an NPS unit. American experience as Plymouth According to Carlino, “If you think Rock or Gettysburg. But a history merit will win out, you are naïve. You that is too close is not always held need the political support—not only in dear. Attitudes, policies, and pro- Washington, it has to be something the grams must change at the federal, region supports.”45 state, and local levels to encourage SIHC projects implementation appreciation among our citizens. costs at approximately $100 million. As the nation’s lead “heritage” SIHC recently secured commitments agency, NPS should play a leading from USX and International United role in raising awareness and mak- Steel Workers of America to lead a ing a credible case for significance. capital campaign.46 Park Corporation The interest and advocacy of has committed to donating the land on preservation and cultural profes- the condition that SIHC gains federal sionals alone have proven to be not government involvement through NPS enough. NPS must become a designation, but has limited access to proactive advocate for and steward the site due to liability concerns. The of our industrial heritage, identify- Union Railroad (part of USX) donating ways to meaningfully incorpo- ed the Hot Metal Bridge to SIHC in rate these resources and stories into 2001. SIHC now owns the Bost the National Park System. Theme Building, the pump house, the water study, NHL, and special resources tower, and the Hot Metal Bridge. But, study determinations for industrial according to SIHC staff, the “big fish and labor heritage should not take a is still in the pond.”47 decade or more. NPS feasibility assessments, particularly their Challenges costs, seem to be the chief impedi- History demonstrates that conser- ment to the agency playing a lead- vation and interpretation of the United ership role, ultimately prompting States’s recent industrial past has been local political and congressional challenging and not wholly successful. intervention. Imagine a future The time and resources devoted to proactive NPS approach to three date have yielded little in terms of other significant 20th-century national recognition and public use industries: aerospace, oil, and com- and enjoyment of these significant puter/web. Such a structured and resources and stories. I propose three proactive approach on the part of primary challenges to success in con- NPS might limit political initiatives serving our recent industrial past: that force the inclusion of sites and • Appreciation of significance. U.S. resources of questionable signifi- society48 must recognize that cance, further reinforcing NPS’s

82 The George Wright FORUM role in making such determina- 20th-century industrial re-use and tions. interpretation is not intrinsic to the • The nature of industry. All indus- missions of these major U.S. insti- try is in a constant state of evolution tutions. As suggested by Randall and technological advancement. Cooley, NPS is, by definition, an Such “living” industries and “liv- “iconic” interpretive agency, focus- ing” landscapes will, by their very ing only on those resources that are nature, evolve. As Fred Mueller icons of the American landscape observes, industrial areas “canni- and experience. If too many similar balize themselves” in the name of resources survive to tell a nationally progress. The history of industry is significant story—such as steel the history of technological evolu- mills or auto factories—NPS is tion, and in the productivity cycle, inclined to wait to preserve the last the old is taken away and new is put example left. NPS’s focus is not on in place. Often, 20th-century the evolution of resources, but on industrial buildings and infrastruc- capturing a resource at a specific ture were designed and built with period of significance. For industri- the capacity for evolution, given the al resources, this evolution co- enormous investment involved. exists on one site.49 NPS creates a Fortunately, the ideal conservation catch-22 by arguing a lack of and interpretation strategy for integrity for an evolved industrial industrial resources is to put them site. However, if such sites were into a continuous cycle of use, fully intact, NPS would likely be retaining the opportunity to tell not even more resistant on issues of fea- only the story of how technology sibility and cost. originated, but how it continues to evolve. Embracing this evolution- History museums focus on the ary nature is the next step in interpretation of artifacts in con- embracing our 20th-century indus- trolled environments, and are not trial heritage. As the two case histo- equipped to address context. Most ries reveal, “freezing” industry and interpretive approaches employ technology at a specific time is not traditional methods of interpreta- appropriate for large-scale industri- tion—film and video, virtual reality, al sites, particularly those that interpretive panels, bus tours—all remain intrinsic to the economies of which are sequenced, packaged, and cultures of communities. The and contained experiences. These Homestead/Carrie special re- methods tend to “sanitize” and sources study addressed this phe- “prettify” the resource and the nomenon, describing site integrity story, catering to the mass con- as “commensurate with the ever sumer tastes of a nation accus- changing nature of industry.” tomed to a Disneyland experience • The culture and missions of NPS, of the urban landscape. All while history museums, and corpora- the authentic resource and experi- tions. The capacity to deal with ence are just outside the bus or vis-

Volume 20 • Number 2 2003 83 itor center window. landscape interpretation, but the Many 20th-century industrial role and presence of NPS cannot be resources are owned by global cor- underestimated. Success in conser- porations with billions in assets. vation and interpretation is general- Unless abandoned, these facilities ly evident in NHAs with strong are still in productive use. NPS recognition, presence, and Generally, conservation and inter- technical assistance. pretation are not in the “DNA” of these corporations. Most business- A Cooperative Way Forward es do not see beyond the next quar- NPS has a unique opportunity to ter’s financial statements, let alone embrace our recent industrial heritage the ten or twenty years needed for by partnering with and recognizing an adaptive re-use project to come the local leadership of NHAs, corpo- to fruition. However, corporations rations, and public-sector partners often need to keep resources in while reinforcing the importance of productive use as a business strate- park units as part of the agency’s gy, which is also the best conserva- “seamless national network.” tion strategy. For resources of such Partnerships are logical, but to gain scale, strategies for single-purpose legitimacy strong local support must use are generally unrealistic, as is also be coupled with federal recogni- transforming all industrial tion. Few communities would mount resources into museums. Twenty such long-range investments without years ago, a corporation’s first the hope of gaining NPS recognition, instinct was to abandon the site and which remains critical to gaining sup- put a fence around it, but increas- port, participation, and funding from ingly, with pressure from munici- public and private sectors. palities to replace losses in their tax base, corporations have focused on • Seizing new opportunities and agendas. The case studies in this demolition and redevelopment— paper illustrate various motivations still posing a challenge to conserva- for the conservation of industrial tionists. resources beyond education and Each of these sectors can and must interpretation: business opportuni- play critical roles if we are to con- ties, enhancing a corporation’s serve and interpret our recent environmental profile, executives’ industrial heritage. NHAs play an interest in history and legacy. In important role in advocating for an order to succeed in the conserva- ethic of re-use and interpretation tion and interpretation of industrial within each, bringing all parties to resources, cultural resource profes- the table, identifying the strengths sionals must be innovative—tell the of each, and allowing the surround- story, find an ally, appropriate an ing community to provide the con- agenda! But there also must be bal- text. NHAs are also an important ance. An agenda which focuses vehicle for expertise in large-scale only on natural resources can be of

84 The George Wright FORUM detriment to the cultural. Still, scene” at historic industrial sites there is a wealth of opportunities to and whose environmental mitiga- partner with the private sector on tion requirements often result in cultural resources, while continu- the loss of cultural resources.53 We ing to expand the NPS definition of need to creatively leverage state- “partnership.” The corporate com- level programs, such as brownfield munity has already proven their and obsolete buildings legislation. interest and willingness to be asso- But perhaps the most important ciated with NPS on environmental factor in alleviating NPS’s resist- issues.50 NPS and NHAs should ance to such large-scale resources is explore how these motivations can addressing the agency’s lack of be transformed into an equally financial resources and staff expert- enthusiastic conservation ethic ise. Congress must provide NPS addressing cultural resources. with adequate funding to support such designations and additions to • New view of standards and incen- the National Park System. tives. The designation and conservation of industrial resources poses • Innovative approaches for big a challenge to NPS management scale and contested stories. Our standards, preservation proce- recent industrial heritage presents dures, and technologies. NPS eval- unique challenges because of the uation of integrity will likely always scale of the resources and the fail if the site is in a continuous inherent conflicts of the stories. We cycle of use. A more flexible must not to be overwhelmed by approach is required if the ultimate scale. As these resources were con- objective is to conserve resources. ceived by minds of a previous gen- All stakeholders must arrive at a eration, so can they be reconceived reasonable definition of what is by the minds of this generation. We required to retain integrity and sta- require viable strategies that focus tus. The secretary of the interior’s on innovative approaches and standards currently stipulate “new resist “assembled or imagineered use that requires minimal change” heritage landscapes,” as Richard and “each property recognized as a Francaviglia has categorized physical record of its time.”51 them.54 Identifying the essence of These standards need to evolve to their inception can inform our re- address industrial scale and condi- use strategies. If innovation defined tions, particularly the secretary’s them 100 years ago, then whatever rehabilitation standards, which defines innovation today can guide seem most relevant to industrial their future use. We must embrace conservation.52 In addition, NPS difficult stories, and continue to tell should take a proactive lead in the whole story, finding ways to coordinating among federal agen- make them relevant to contempo- cies, particularly with the EPA, rary society. Still vital to most com- which is often the “first on the munities, 20th-century industrial

Volume 20 • Number 2 2003 85 sites offer rich opportunities for compellingly convey this heritage. I civic engagement in under-served close my paper with a call to action. urban areas, connecting NPS to a The opportunities are ripe and time is more diverse constituent base. of the essence if we are to address this transcendently important heritage. I hope this history has established The potential benefits are great for the argument for the significance of current and future generations—if we recent industrial heritage in the United as a nation can come together to suc- States and shone a light on the impor- cessfully conserve and interpret our tant role that national heritage areas recent industrial heritage, using that are playing, and the challenges they heritage as a transformative force for face, in attempting to conserve and change, learning, and growth. interpret the resources and stories that

Endnotes 1Aldo Rossi, The Architecture of the City, trans. Diane Ghirardo (Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 1982). 2 Constance C. Bodurow,“Rethinking the industrial landscape: The future of the Ford Rouge Complex” (master’s thesis, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 1991). 3 Spiro Kostof, America by Design (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987). 4 My focus here is on projects that include re-use and interpretation. There are hundreds of projects in Europe and North America that have a more conventional approach to re-use, but do not attempt to leverage embedded information value or educational opportunities. While there are examples across the U.S. of the successful adaptive re-use of 19th-century mill and warehouse buildings for residential, loft, commercial, and retail space, but only a few examples of large-scale 20th-century industrial sites have been adaptively re-used through private-sector initiative and public-sector incentives. Higher-profile examples include the Monterey Aquarium (Monterey, California; a former canning factory), Stroh RiverPlace mixed use development (Detroit; the former Parke Davis Laboratories—though the complex lost its NHL designation because of adaptive re-use), and the Briggs–Courtyard by Marriott hotel (Omaha, Nebraska; former warehouses). 5At http://whc.unesco.org/sites/industrial.htm. 6Jerome Hugron, Industrial Heritage in Europe: Preservation and Revitalization Initiatives (Lyon, France: Université de Bourgogne, 2002). 7 Sources of information for European projects: Bodurow, “Rethinking the industrial landscape”; Hugron, Industrial Heritage in Europe. 8 Hugron, Industrial Heritage in Europe. 9 In the NHL system, there are currently 12 theme categories potentially relating to industrial resources. NHL research, NPS Washington Cultural Resources Office staff. 10 Author’s research of current National Park System. I have excluded sites such as Los Alamos National Laboratories, which deal primarily with 20th-century military history. 11 This was the experience of Rivers of Steel NHA in attempting to gain designation for the Homestead/Carrie site; see below. 12 Historic American Engineering Record informational brochure, undated. 13 At http://www.nps.gov/parks. 14 Though not an NPS initiative, Bethlehem Steel in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, merits inclusion as the largest brownfield project the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has undertaken with private industry, the future site of a new National Museum of Industrial History (NMIH), and a unique partnership approach led by high-level Bethlehem Steel executives. Located on the Lehigh River, the plant served from 1904–2002 as the headquarters of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation, and is also a key site in the Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (DLNHC). Steel-making ceased in 1995,

86 The George Wright FORUM and over the last 10–15 years, a master plan was developed for the re-use and interpretation of the 160- acre site as a mixed-use complex. The plan incorporates three-fourths of the existing historic structures, effectively preserving the historic core of operation. The most significant resources on site are the five furnaces, illustrating over 50 years in steel-making technology. The proposed program includes museum and interpretive uses, community recreation, and commercial areas. In 1997, a memorandum of understanding was signed with the Smithsonian Institution for a new affiliate museum, the NMIH, to be located in the plant’s No. 2 machine shop. Planning and implementation has been managed by the nonprofit BethWorks, working in conjunction with the Delaware County Development Corporation. Unfortunately, plans have recently stalled due to Bethlehem Steel’s recent bankruptcy and purchase by a Cleveland-based corporation, though the NMIH project is expected to proceed. Interview with C. Allen Sachse, executive director, DLNHC. 15 Interview with Robie Lange, National Historic Landmarks Survey, April 9, 2003; National Park Service, Labor History Theme Study: Phase III (Denver: NPS Denver Service Center, 1997). Phase I of the labor history theme study was a reconnaissance survey by qualified scholars of labor history.During Phase II, historians at the Newberry Library in Chicago, under contract to the NPS, identified a list of 52 sites, including the Schloss Blast Furnaces in Birmingham, Alabama (now owned and operated by the city of Birmingham and open to the public as a museum of industry), the Ford Rouge Complex, and the Butte–Anaconda Mining and Smelting Complex in Montana. The initial study did lead to some NHL designations. Phase III was initiated in 1995 at the George Meany Conference, reducing the list to 11 sites. NPS, now in phase IV, has revised the study and further reduced the list of eligible sites. Currently under internal review, the study may lead to a multiple-property designation. 16 See the papers in this issue by Eugster and Barrett for discussions on the origins and evolution of the heritage area movement in the United States. 17 To some extent, other NHAs deal with 20th-century industrial heritage. Silos and Smokestacks NHA deals with agricultural themes and includes the John Deere Works, and Augusta Canal NHA deals with textile production and power generation. However, neither deals with industrial re-use and interpretation at the scale of the two case studies selected for this paper. 18 The factory gets its name from the river on which it was built. La Riviere Rouge (Red River) was named by the region’s French settlers in the early 1700s for its rich red clay soil and, therefore, its distinctive color. 19 Bodurow, “Rethinking the industrial landscape.” 20 Allan Nevins and Frank Ernest Hill, Expansion and Challenge (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1957), p. 687. 21 Ralph J. Christian, Rouge NHL nomination, May 1977. 22 Bodurow, “Rethinking the industrial landscape,” p. 189. 23 Detroit News, May 4, 1999. 24 McDonough is known as the “green dean” for his innovative sustainable design practice and status as former dean of the University of Virginia School of Architecture. 25 Ford Centennial Operations/Rouge Communications 6-02. 26 Interview with Patricia Mooradian, THF, March 17, 2003. 27 Ford Centennial Operations/Rouge Communications 6-02. 28 Mooradian interview. 29 Ibid. 30 Interview with Timothy O’Brien, FMC, February 25, 2002. 31 National Park Service, Labor History Theme Study: Phase III. 32 O’Brien interview. 33 Ibid. 34 The power house was damaged in the 1999 explosion and its landmark stacks and precipitators were recently removed because of safety and environmental concerns. 35 Albert Kahn’s first building on site was originally known as the B-Building because it was built to pro- duce Eagle boats for the U.S. Navy in World War I. 36 O’Brien interview. 37 MotorCities–Automobile National Heritage Area General Management Plan (N.p., November 2001), pp.

Volume 20 • Number 2 2003 87 233-235. 38 Ibid. 39 National Park System Advisory Board, Rethinking the National Parks in the 21st Century (Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Society, 2001). 40 Conversation with Gustavo Araoz, executive director, US/ICOMOS, October 11, 2003. 41 National Park Service, Battle of Homestead and Carrie Furnaces 6 and 7 Special Resources Study (Boston: NPS Northeast Region, August 2002). 42 Interview with Ron Baraff, SIHC staff historian, April 11, 2003. 43 The NHL district nomination for Homestead/Carrie was drafted in 1998 by Michael Bennett, research historian at the University of Vermont. According to SIHC staff, NPS has repeatedly reviewed and returned the document, which is now in its third iteration. The NPS Washington staff has expressed concern about integrity of the site, and, absent a national context study, has instructed Bennett and SIHC to complete a comparative analysis of blast furnaces in the area, particularly now that Bethlehem has expressed intent to acquire NHL status. Bennett’s latest conclusions focus on the fact that no other extant furnaces are (1) tied to Andrew Carnegie and (2) linked to Pittsburgh district. The newly revised NHL is still in the process of review, but is moving forward. 44 Interview with August R. Carlino, chief executive officer, SIHC, April 13, 2003. 45 Ibid. 46 Ibid. Local foundations made it clear to SIHC that without visible industry support, it would be impos- sible for them to raise money for the project. 47 Baraff interview. 48 Citizens, private property owners, government servants. 49 Interview with Randall Cooley, executive director, Southwest Pennsylvania Heritage Preservation Commission, March 28, 2003. 50 FMC partnership with NPS on the Glacier National Park “red buses” alternative fuel conversion project, and THINK! electric vehicle donations throughout the National Park System. 51 Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties, 1995. 52 FMC chose not to use historic tax credits at the Rouge, believing that the secretary’s standards would hold them up for years, but then still decided to painstakingly recreate the single-pane glass windows of Kahn’s historic Glass Plant. 53 An example of this can be found at the Rouge, where environmental remediation is resulting in the demolition of the historic coke ovens. 54 Alanen and Melnick, 2000.

Constance C. Bodurow, 2900 East Jefferson Avenue, A-200, Detroit, Michigan 48207; [email protected] 3

88 The George Wright FORUM