STEELSTACKS ART & ARCHITECTURE TOUR Draft 05-29-2013

Welcome and thank you for coming to our Art and Architecture Tour. My name is I am a guide with Historic Bethlehem Museums and Sites. Is this your first visit? Where are you from? Did you or any of your relatives work for Bethlehem Steel?

INTRODUCTION Welcome to the former Bethlehem Plant of the former Bethlehem Steel Corporation. This plant of Bethlehem Steel Corporation covered 1,800 acres, stretching for over 4 miles along the Lehigh River. Having begun as the Saucona Iron Company in 1857, it became the Bethlehem Iron Company in 1861 and then Bethlehem Steel Corporation in 1904.

Cheap foreign steel, the failure to revitalize aging plants, the cost of labor, management inefficiencies, and changing global circumstances finally brought the company to an end. Bethlehem Steel filed for bankruptcy in 2001 and was sold to International Steel Group in 2003.

In the mid 2000s, the heart of the plant, app 124 acres, was sold to the Sands Corporation and other partners. After years of decline, this brown field is experiencing a renaissance … we will look at the early structures of the Steel and then at the new ArtsQuest Center, the PBS 39 facility, and the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem.

In part II of this tour, called the Rise and Fall of Bethlehem Steel offered this afternoon, you will learn about the history of the Steel. Now, we will learn about the architecture of the early industrial age and the new architecture and public art as this site is gaining new life as a center for the arts, culture and gaming.

Let’s go back in time to the days before electricity, cars, phones, and computers.

Before the Industrial Revolution, individual artisans and masters with their apprentices made goods mostly by hand or with the help of wind, water, or animal power. They worked in small shops and in relatively small buildings.

With the Industrial Revolution, these small individual operations of hand-making goods mostly came to an end and were replaced with factories where the worker was part of a process and only made a piece of the end product. The iron worker in 1750s Bethlehem in our Blacksmith Shop forged the iron into finished products such as tools, door hardware, cooking pots. By the late 1800s, the iron worker here at Bethlehem Steel was working alongside hundreds of other men in large buildings transforming huge quantities of molten iron into many different products from steel rails for the railroad industry, wide flange beams for the new skyscrapers, to sheet metal for the burgeoning automobile business.

It is postulated that industrial buildings led the way in architectural design in the second half of the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. Huge buildings were needed with lots of light and air circulation. As we walk around this plant, we will see how the buildings developed and you will see influences of classical Greek and Roman architecture.

STOCK HOUSE VISITOR CENTER One of earliest buildings on the former Bethlehem Steel site and now the oldest – constructed circa 1863. It was designed by John Fritz, chief engineer of the Bethlehem Iron Company, forerunner of Bethlehem Steel Corporation. Many industrial building were designed by engineers rather than architects. Their design was based on function and had little ornamentation. Let’s take a close look at the building. Notice the materials used in its

construction. John Fritz was keenly aware of the dangers of fire and made sure that all of his buildings were built of stone and brick, with iron roof trusses and cast iron columns.

Why are the windows so large? This was decades before Thomas Edison invented the electric light bulb and over 50 years before air conditioning. The windows were made to open to allow for air circulation.

Initially there were small panes of glass in wooden frames. Later the panes were enlarged and held in steel framed windows. They were trying to capture as much daylight as possible since they were struggling to see what they were doing. The type of glass also changed to lenticular or refraction glass which would allow daylight to penetrate without shadow or glare, both of which could be very dangerous.

Let’s look at the architectural design of the stone walls and window openings. These are Roman-type arches with cut stones forming the arch around the top of the window openings. Notice also that the stone is laid in rows.

The Stock House, as its name implies, was used as the place to store raw materials in the iron making process: iron ore, coal and limestone. It served this purpose when the earliest blast furnaces were much smaller and men used wheel barrows to cart raw materials to the top of the furnaces.

Let’s walk around to west side of structure. Notice the architectural design element used in the restoration to provide a fire stair and elevator. Now look behind the building at the blast furnaces – see how reminiscent this element is of the large blast furnace pipes. The architects for the restoration wanted to be true to the site in the new addition.

On the interior, the building has 6,000 square feet in size with a full second story added during restoration in 2011-12. The architects kept a portion of one of the crane runs. There were hundreds of overhead electrical cranes throughout the plant. The building now serves as a regional visitor center with offices on the second floor for ArtsQuest. The visitor center is operated by Discover Lehigh Valley and ArtsQuest. Feel free at the end of our tour to come back to this building and learn about all you can do here in Bethlehem and throughout the Lehigh Valley.

TURN AND GRIND SHOP View the building from the entrance. Guests are not permitted inside the building due to liability issues. The Turn and Grind Shop was also built in the latter half of the 1800s with additions around 1909. It has 26,000 square feet of space. Notice the railroad tracks running through the floor. There were about 300 miles of track running throughout the plant. The trains brought in the steel shafts that were turned and ground to a fine polished surface. Bethlehem Steel had many contracts with the US Navy. This building was used to grind the shafts that drive the engines in their ships. This shop was a precursor to the big machine shops in the plant.

There were about 900 electric overhead crane runs in the plant. This shop had multiple crane runs, again a necessity for working with heavy steel. Each crane run has a number painted on the side to let you know how much the crane could lift. However, back before electricity, mules were used to help move heavy objects along with chains and simple tools like wedges, ramps, block & tackle, ratchets.

Plans call for renovation of the building as a center for events such as Christkindlmarkt, Oktoberfest, art and antiques shows and exhibits, markets, and community events.

This building stands only a few feet from an active freight rail line (8 railroad tracks) moving freight through the New York/New Jersey metro areas.

In addition to architecture, we will also be observing the public art designed for this area.

Sculpture “Celebration of Life” by Salma Arastu Arastu, her husband, and children lived in Kuwait and Iran before emigrating to the United States in 1986. Arastu was born in India to a large family of 10 children and was also born with no fingers on her left hand. Arastu, a former Bethlehem resident, was a resident artist at the Banana Factory, Artsquest’s visual arts and education center. For those of you who are not from the area, the Banana Factory is about 6 blocks to the west on Third Street and houses 28 artist studios, a hot glass studio, and holds visual arts classes available to the community. (Need photo of Banana Factory- another perfect example of adaptive re-use … a former banana warehouse turned into a center for the arts). The artist now lives with her family in Berkley, CA.

Arastu says she is building a body of work that “seeks to express joy in the universal spirit that unites humanity.” Her work is also influenced by her faith; Arastu was raised in the Hindu faith, but converted to Islam after her marriage. This influence can be seen in her in her work. She was also influenced by the flowing nature of Arabic calligraphy. Most of her work is painting and watercolor.

This is her second piece of public sculpture. It was chosen for this site because it represents the joy of humanity and community. Made of steel and aluminum, this sculpture was fabricated locally and dedicated here July 2011.

Background info on Banana Factory: The Banana Factory is a community art center and gallery. It recognizes the importance of the visual arts and sharing them with all. The Factory has 63,000 square feet of space and is an actual former factory. The space began life as the Lehigh Valley Hotel and stood for over a century. At various times it was home to a garment manufacturer, an auto parts store, and an automobile dealership. The business from which the Banana Factory draws its name was D. Theodoredis and sons, which processed, sold, and distributed bananas throughout the Northeast. The current Banana Factory was established in 1998.

BLAST FURNACES These are the most powerful remaining symbols of Bethlehem Steel, standing at about 200 ft tall – about the height of a 20-story building. In their day when they were in operation, they looked like fire breathing giants with smoke and fire (purple flame with yellow tips) coming out of the top. They were very colorful – many of the pipes were painted different colors to differentiate their use – air (blue), oxygen (green), gas (yellow), water, electric lines, safety railings (yellow), safety walkways (white). Anything related to fire was painted red, just as today. If you look closely, you can still see remnants of the colors on the safety railings and on some of the pipes. Color was extremely important to the safety of the workers at the plant.

In a steel safety book, the following colors were noted: acetylene lines – green, propane lines - green with white bands, oxygen lines – yellow … not sure when these colors were implemented.

Seven blast furnaces were constructed between the first decade of 1900 and 1954, titled A through G. Today, furnaces A through E remain. These furnaces produced molten iron which was further processed into steel at other locations in the plant.

Three ingredients were used to make iron: iron ore, limestone, and coke, a by-product of coal. These three ingredients were brought from the ore yard located where the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem is now, by an internal railroad system – the Hoover Mason Trestle. Each furnace produced about 3,000 tons of iron per day. Producing one ton of iron requires about 2 tons of iron ore, 1 ton of coke, and ½ ton of limestone. (A ton = 2,000 pounds.)

The last cast took place in C furnace in 1995, the flames died out, and the furnaces went dark. Now each evening, the blast furnaces are illuminated once again, this time not by fire but by an LED lighting system that was created by the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem.

LEHIGH POWER HOUSE - GAS BLOWING ENGINE HOUSE If you look in front of the blast furnaces, there was a very large building that in this western half produced electricity from engines running on blast furnace gas. You can still see the flywheel that helped to produce electricity for the plant. Doesn’t it look like a giant sculpture and half of it is below ground!

At the eastern end, you can see the gas blowing engine house which contains the huge gas-blowing engines with their 100 ton fly-wheels which produced compressed air (30 lbs. of pressure) for the blast furnaces. Stoves heated the air before it passed into the furnaces. There had to be a changing mix of hot and cold air to get the desired temperature into the furnace. The building has a tile floor and walls and was kept immaculately clean. It was a showplace for Bethlehem Steel.

HOOVER MASON TRESTLE This elevated rail line has two tracks to bring raw materials to the blast furnaces. The south track picked up the raw materials at the ore yard where the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem stands today or at the sintering plant where the iron ore was processed before being taken to the blast furnaces. Each ore car could carry 200 tons of ore. The north track was standard-gauge railroad track with extra long, extra capacity cars which brought coke from the coke works which was located near Hellertown several miles away. The Coke Works no longer stands, but today there are other industries on the site.

Beneath the blast furnaces was another rail line which would carry away molten iron in submarine cars for further refinement to one of the steel-making facilities or to one the foundries here in the plant and the slag was transported to the slag dump and processing plant also on the way to Hellertown.

The elevated rail line built in 1904 is called the Hoover Mason Trestle, named after the engineers who designed this integrated system of moving the raw materials from the ore yard to the blast furnaces. (The engineering firm of Arthur J. Mason and Frank K. Hoover designed and manufactured machinery for the handling of iron ore from the mines to the blast furnace.) This ushered in the start of automation in the steelmaking process with this generation of blast furnaces. Not only did the trestle bring the raw materials to the site, it allowed for the transfer of the raw materials from the cars into the huge containers beneath the trestle where the skip cars through an incline plane would carry the raw materials to the top of the furnace.

As part of the renaissance of this site, beginning in late spring 2013, the trestle will be undergoing preservation and re-use as an elevated park and walkway connecting the visitor center and ArtsQuest Center with the Sands. Interpretive signs about the history of Bethlehem Steel and the surrounding community will be placed a various locations along its one-half mile length. Elevator and stairway access will be placed at three locations along the length of the trestle. Do come back to visit.

LEVITT PAVILION Designed by Wallace, Roberts & Todd of Philadelphia, the concept was to evoke the gun turret on a battleship since Bethlehem Steel produced huge amounts of ships and guns for the war effort in World War I and II and was called the “arsenal of democracy.” Notice the contrast between early 21st century architecture and early 20th century industrial architecture of the furnaces. The pavilion was designed using perforated stainless steel panels. It serves as a centerpiece as you enter through Founders Way.

Opened July 2011, it presents 50 live, free, family friendly concerts each summer. In addition, it serves as a stage for Artsquest’s Musikfest, a 10-day music festival with hundreds of live performances, many of which are free. The Pavilion is also used for many community events.

The Levitt Pavilion has earned three AIA Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and NY/NJ/PA tri-state design awards The Levitt family of California has supported six Levitt Pavilions in the United States: Westport, CT; MacArthur Park, Los Angeles; Pasadena, CA; Memphis, TN; and Arlington, TX. The goal of the Levitt family is to support and encourage free, family-friendly music.

Background info on Levitt: The Levitt Pavilion has 6 primary structural steel ribs and rises 37 feet into the air then twists and cantilevers 35 feet over the stage and dips again forward to the ground at stage left. The architect firm was Wallace, Roberts, Todd. The panels of the Pavilion are perforated stainless steel. The engineering of this piece had to be very precise in order to fit everything together. The perforated panels have a translucent quality, and change appearance where light hits them.

The Levitt Pavilion was made possible by The Mortimer and Mimi Levitt foundation. It is a private family foundation. It was begun in 1963 to support arts, culture, and education. Mortimer was the son if immigrant parents and grew up in Brooklyn. His father worked at Coney Island and young Mortimer couldn’t afford the price of a ticket for rides or concerts. He would stand outside of the music venue and listen for free and it sparked his lifelong passion for outdoor music. He became a successful businessman in New York City and a philanthropist. His Custom Shirt business had 80 retail locations across the country. The first Levitt Pavilion was established in Westport, CT. It was on a former landfill site near the Saugatuck river and Mortimer, a part time summer resident, was the projects biggest donor. It didn’t start out as a Levitt pavilion project, but as the largest donor the town decided to name the project after him. From there the Pavilions were established. The criteria to be met are that the site has to be a public space in need of invigoration, and that the pavilion becomes a community gathering place where everyone is welcome. There are at least 7 Levitt Pavilions in different locations around the country. The newest Levitt Pavilion will open in Denver in 2015.

Mack Truck has a long history of manufacturing trucks in here in the Lehigh Valley and is a famous brand worldwide. This is a replica of their Titan model. It is not a working truck as it is a little smaller than the original and has no engine. Bethlehem Steel used Mack trucks among other brands as part of its transportation system.

Background info on Mack Truck: The Mack truck on display is a class 8 commercial vehicle and the Titan model. This truck was introduced in 2008 and was used in logging, oil fields and other heavy duty operations. This truck is a real Titan that was rebuilt and refurbished by 35 students of Lehigh Career and Technical Institute that is based in Schnecksville, Pa. The students disassembled and rebuilt the truck and in the process created a schematic and new parts. They reconstructed the vehicle from the ground up and detailed and painted the truck. The project provided an invaluable hands on experience. It is in place as a snack stand. The Mack bulldog hood ornament is the work of chief engineer Alfred Fellows Masury. He was hospitalized in 1932 and was bored, so he carved a Bulldog from either a bar of soap or some wood and the rest is history.

Let’s look at more of the early buildings and some interesting design elements.

THE BESSEMER RAIL ROLLING MILL Later known as the Iron Foundry

Completed in 1873, this massive stone structure was in the shape of a double cruciform or cross all under one roof. Look at the free-standing stone walls with the arched openings and imagine all of this as one building under a single roof.

Remember the style of the Stock House with its Roman arches. This plant took five years to complete and was designed by engineer John Fritz who also designed the stock house. Originally called the Bessemer Rail Rolling Mill, it housed two major manufacturing operations in one building: the Bessemer Furnaces and the Rail Rolling Mill. This was the first fully integrated steel mill in the United States. John Fritz designed the building with the idea of separating the major operations from each other to mitigate the impact of heat and noise. The Bessemer portion was at the West end. The main stem of the building was 931 feet long or longer than three football fields and the cross sections were over 300 feet wide. Once again notice the large window openings to admit lots of light into the structure. This was considered a “state of the art” facility in its day. As many as 700 employees labored here in tremendous heat and noise for 12 hours each day producing rails for the expanding railroads and new streetcar industry.

This is a fabulous structure. How would you envision rehabbing this structure for our 21st century lifestyles.

CARPENTER SHOP Let’s take a close look at this structure. You will notice that it is made of brick not stone. Built in the early 1900s, it uses a framework of steel structural members instead of solid masonry to hold up the building. By doing so, the walls are no longer a structural element. The weight is born by the steel (or iron) framework. The buildings can be built taller, the walls are thinner, and the window openings larger.

Notice the circular window reminiscent of the rose window of the medieval cathedrals or the oculus window of the Baroque era.

Many of these buildings also have what is known in architectural terms as a monitor - a raised structure running along the ridge of a double-pitched roof, with its own roof running parallel with the main roof. The long sides of these industrial building monitors contain clerestory windows and / or louvers to light or ventilate the area below. Going back to the medieval cathedrals of Europe, they often had clerestory stained-glass windows way up near the roof allowing shafts of colored light to penetrate to the ground below.

In the days before electricity and even in the early days of the electric light bulb, as much light as possible was needed to allow people to work long hours. This light monitor with the clerestory windows would allow additional daylight into the middle of the shop floor.

This building is slated to be converted into residential condominiums with ground floor retail and office space.

ELECTRICAL SHOP – will be the home of the future National Museum of Industrial History. This building was built at the same time and is a twin of the carpenter shop. Notice the transformation with new windows and cleaned brick facades. No date has been given for an opening of this museum.

PLANT OFFICE BUILDING This 6-story brick building is very institutional in style – a big square box with little ornamentation. The first three floors were built in 1942 with three more floors added by 1946. It was used as the main office for the Bethlehem plant operations. Here again is an excellent example of adaptive re-use since it is now the home of the south side campus of Northampton Community College (Need how many students take classes here). With the coming of the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, the College was quick to respond to the Sands’ needs and provided training and classes in hospitality and table games.

“SGO” STEEL GENERAL OFFICES This was the main or headquarters office for this entire international corporation. This building had its origins in a small structure dating to 1906. The seven-story building was designed by the Chicago architecture firm of Graham, Burnham & Company in 1916. This firm is also known for their design of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago building and Union Station in Chicago. In 1928, the building was given a six-floor vertical addition by Graham, Anderson, Probst & White (which was the new name for Graham, Burnham & Company). Seen from above, the building was designed in the form of an H with Classical Revival elements – lintels over windows. The main entrance was along Third Street.

From late 1940s through early 1950s, the building underwent a major remodeling by the famous New York architectural firm of McKim, Mead & White, including the entrance which was moved from Third Street to this location. The pretentious lobby allowed for the creation of the Schwab Library on the first floor and Eugene Gifford Grace auditorium and museum above it. They also built the East Addition at that time.

The building style is categorized as the Commercial Style – largely associated with Chicago buildings & architects of the early 20th century. These buildings are among the first type of buildings to promote steel-frame construction in commercial buildings and are known for steel-frame construction with masonry cladding, areas of large plate-glass windows, & limited outdoor ornamentation.

With the development of the wide-flange beam by Bethlehem Steel, this type of construction gave rise literally to the skyscraper. It is believed that 80% of the New York City skyline by the 1940s was built using structural steel from Bethlehem Steel Corporation.

This building remained home to the executive offices until the completion and opening of Martin Tower in West Bethlehem in 1972. (Martin Tower photo – built in the shape of a cross affording many corner offices for the corporate executives – has been individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places)

At one time, this headquarters building housed an extensive art collection from a variety of American artists. The collection included an 1855 painting of George Washington by Rembrandt Peale, whose Washington paintings would become the iconic depictions of our first president of the United States. When Bethlehem Steel declared bankruptcy, the art collection was sold at auction.

There were a total of 9 friezes lining the walls of the lobby in the Steel General Office building. Five figures depicted Management, Employees, Consumers, Stockholders, and Suppliers. The remaining four show structures representing Raw Materials, Steel Making, Shipbuilding, and Fabrication. The friezes were salvaged and now can be found in the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem Hotel.

In the basement of the building was a flag room – the appropriate flag would be flown for visiting dignitaries from foreign countries.

Unfortunately, the building has greatly deteriorated. There is a hope that it can be converted into residential use.

CENTRAL TOOL AND CENTRAL TOOL ANNEX Built in the early 1900s around the same time as the Carpenter and Electrical shops, these two structures still have large windows. Central Tool has a light monitor and oculus window. The Annex has an oculus vent, but no light monitor. As was mentioned previously, these structures are the precursors of the glass and steel office buildings so prevalent in our cities today. Notice that these windows open.

At this time, there are no specific development plans for these buildings. They look like they would make great shops, restaurants, and loft apartments.

BUS STOPS, ETC. These are replicas of World War II era bus tops that were installed when Bethlehem Steel itself tried to develop the site as a tourist destination in 2001. The tower along the sidewalk is an original structure that was used by Bethlehem Steel for lighting the main plant roadway. Notice also the streetlights are reproductions of historic designs appropriate for industrial use with the bell shape pushing light downward and the wire around the lights themselves protecting them from possibly flying debris.

PBS 39 (Info from PBS 39)

PBS personnel worked with a design team from URS, an architectural, engineering, and planning firm. The collaboration produced a new component of Bethlehem’s revitalized arts district, one that represents the modern character of a state-of-the-art facility with a nod to the storied past of the former Bethlehem Steel plant.

The north façade of the building features metal mesh, precast concrete, and charred cedar that reflect the site’s industrial heritage. The juxtaposition of materials mimics the artistic vibe of the present-day district against the backdrop of the formidable blast furnaces. The contrast in technology is also striking, with the hulking manufacturing facility metaphorically overshadowed by the sophistication within PBS39. The high-definition studios at PBS are the closest in kind and proximity to those in New York City.

The building’s extruded metal skin is backlit with color-changing LED lights, creating a stunning streetscape that is replicated in nearby buildings. The interior of the PBS39 facility features public spaces that are cleanly detailed, open, and inviting to the public. In a deliberate effort to make the building part of the community at large, “back of house” spaces such as the Tech Core and the Master Control are displayed instead of hidden. This connection with the public realm is continued with the large-scale media wall toward the front of the building, with a community meeting space that engages the landscape and creates the potential for external event spaces amid this art-infused campus. These spaces represent and engender the interaction and utilization essential to a public broadcasting system.

Additional background info: The LED display measures approximately 15 feet by 10 feet. The cost of the building was 8.8 million dollars. Construction began in June of 2010, the completed building is 29,000 square feet in size.

NO. 2 MACHINE SHOP The No. 2 Machine Shop is 1/3 mile long and when constructed in 1888 with an addition in 1915 was the largest manufacturing building under roof in the United States and considered the largest industrial building in the world for many years. It too was designed by chief engineer John Fritz. Notice once again the large windows, many of which were bricked up. This building also had a light monitor. There are proposals for recasting its voluminous space as retail and hotel use, but the future of No. 2 Machine Shop is uncertain.

Walk on to Air Products Town Square and go to “The Bridge” sculpture

“The Bridge” is a 30-foot tall, 70-foot long cantilevered bridge sculpture commissioned for this site. The artist, Elena Colombo, lives in New York, but is originally from Scranton, PA, and specializes in large, site-specific works in bronze, stone, steel, concrete. Her works, like this one, incorporate elements of fire, earth, water, and air. Her fire sculptures are found in private residences and public spaces. She says of her work, “I am ever inspired by the elemental nature of fire and the primal need we have for it. Fire serves both our need for beauty and our instinct to gather around a warm lighted place; it is a destination wherever it burns.”

This sculpture features a 37 ft. continuous flame visible from the top and bottom of the sculpture, designed to symbolize the flames that were emitted from the blast furnaces. This flame is lit at the end of a feature concert in the evening.

The sculpture is in the form of the arch that holds up bridges, hundreds of which were built in the United States with Bethlehem Steel. Two of the most famous bridges are the George Washington Bridge in New York and the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, the structural steel for which was made at this plant and shipped across the country. The steel beams featured inside and outside of the ArtsQuest Center are painted the international orange color of the Golden Gate Bridge to celebrate the relationship of the site to that famous structure. The sculpture is engraved with the names of structures and naval vessels constructed from Bethlehem Steel.

“The Bridge” was dedicated and had its inaugural lighting on the eve of Musikfest on August 4, 2011. This sculpture was funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts as part of the Mayors’ Institute for Community Design 25th Anniversary Grants.

As you are walking to “Alchemy” sculpture, point out the Musikfest Café on the 3rd and 4th floors of the ArtsQuest Center which takes maximum advantage of the view of the blast furnaces.

Alchemy sculpture “Alchemy” is a fire sculpture also designed by Elena Columbo and sponsored by Air Products Corporation. The “A” is modeled after Air Products’ original logo, which was drawn from the alchemist’s symbol for air. The sculpture symbolizes the transformation of this steel mill into a space for the arts, cultural events, and the community. It was dedicated here at Steelstacks in September, 2011.

Background Info on Air Products: Air Products did not supply the Bethlehem Plant. In 2000, it provided industrial gas for Sparrows Point in Maryland, and Steelton plant in Pennsylvania. The air for Bethlehem Plant’s Basic Oxygen Furnace was supplied by Airco which built a facility across the Lehigh River from the Basic Oxygen Furnace ( no longer extant).

In 1939 Air Products founder Leonard Pool had thoughts about selling industrial gas and in 1940 incorporated in Michigan. During World War II in the year1943, Air Products moved to Chattanooga, TN. A bigger plant was required to meet government needs, and the government paid for the move. After the war, lucrative contracts dried up, and the large space became too big. In 1946 the company moved to Emmaus, PA. It was a rocky start, but the company took hold. During the Cold War, Air Products’ close proximity to Bethlehem Steel necessitated a move. The US government would not issue contracts to Air Products because its Emmaus location was less than 12 miles from Bethlehem Steel. The Steel was considered a primary target in the event of a bombing from the Soviet Union, so Air Products needed to move in order not to be collateral damage. Air Products officials drew circles on a map of the Lehigh Valley and chose Trexlertown, PA as its new base of operations. Trexlertown was convenient because it had highway and rail access and more importantly was more than 12 miles away from Bethlehem Steel.

ArtsQuest Center This center was originally planned to be an adaptive re-use of another steel building, Hammer Shop #8, but after much study and engineering analysis, it was not possible. So, ArtsQuest engaged the services of Spillman Farmer Architects, a Bethlehem-based architectural firm, to design a building for this site. The building’s design is inspired by the Critical Regionalism Movement, which values material and craft over abstract concept. This building is designed with Critical Regionalism in mind starting from the premise of local or regional architecture and paying attention to the building’s geographical context. In this case, the industrial setting of Bethlehem Steel heavily influenced the building’s conception and design.

The ArtsQuest Center, with 67,000 square feet of space, is four stories tall. It has been constructed from largely local materials. The building, framed in steel and concrete, is a hybrid structure designed to be both aesthetically pleasing and functional. In its design there are elements that fit the site and also allow for the site to function, like insulating the building’s service core from the performance space. The general idea behind the building was to showcase the blast furnaces and use them as a permanent backdrop to the performances and the venue itself. The outside of the building done in pre-cast concrete panels mounted with the rough, hand-screeded side facing out. The mottled color of the concrete panels and their uneven surfaces are designed to age with time and reflect its passage.

Enter the ArtsQuest Center through the Town Square doors.

The service core of the ArtsQuest Center runs along the rear of the building while the performance spaces face north, toward the blast furnaces. The overall design concept can be shorthanded to: “raw elegance.” The wood used in the interior of the building is Pennsylvania ash, which has been stained dark on one side and natural on the other to create a play of dark and light that reflects the interiors and exteriors of the blast furnaces. The main entrance is done as a shroud – a progression of ceiling heights – to evoke the entrances of many of the original buildings on the site.

The ArtsQuest Center has won a number of awards and accolades, including a silver medal from the American Institute of Architects in 2012 (the organization’s highest honor) and was nominated for 2012’s “Building of the Year” by Archdaily, an international architectural website

If the group is small use the “orange” elevator to go to the 4th floor so that they can walk down the two flights to view “The Four Elements”. If the group has more than 10, including guide, take the two elevators to the third floor and view the sculpture.

“The Four Elements” is a 40-foot tall glass sculpture created by ArtsQuest glass studio artists John Choi and Dennis Gardner, with help from their staff and glassblowing students.

The sculpture, which took 18 months to complete start to finish, is composed of over 900 pieces of glass and weighs 3,700 pounds. The sculpture is composed of both blown glass pieces and flat glass pieces. It must be walked around from top to bottom to be seen completely.

The sculpture, installed in April 2012, signifies the completion of the ArtsQuest Center at Steelstacks. In designing the sculpture, Choi and Gardner wanted to represent something universal that would prompt reflection by individual viewers and also remind visitors of the role of visual arts in our lives. The sculpture has room for 2 inches of expansion for the seasons and is illuminated by hundreds of LED lights.

ArtsQuest hot glass studio is located in the Banana Factory, ArtsQuest’s visual arts center on Third Street, just 6 blocks from Steelstacks. As mentioned previously, the Banana Factory which got its name from its historic use as a banana distribution warehouse, has numerous artist studios, classrooms, education studios and three galleries.

We are in the Martin Guitar Lobby. The world famous Martin Guitars are made 10 miles north of here in Nazareth, Pennsylvania. The images on the walls are images of Martin’s factory and how guitars are still made today. The images on the stairway to the fourth floor are images of some great musicians who use Martin Guitars. If there is no event in progress, you may enter into the Musikfest Café

The Musikfest Café is presented by Yuengling, America’s oldest brewery, which is located only 40 miles from here in Pottsville, PA. Brewery tours are available and we encourage you to stop for a visit. Brewing has a long

history here in Bethlehem; the 1810 Goundie House, located on Main Street, was the first federal style brick home here in the city built for John Sebastian Goundie and his family, the town brewer at the time.

The Musikfest Café offers over 150 live concerts annually, featuring artists of virtually every genre of music and also theatrical events, modern dance and awards programs. It is also used by many community organizations for their events and is available for rental for private events.

The main feature of the café is the view of the blast furnaces behind the stage. This is an especially dramatic view at night when the blast furnaces are illuminated. Both artists and audience rave about the setting and the acoustics in this venue.

There are four formats for concerts here. In all formats the balcony level offers tables with chairs and food and beverage service. In cabaret format, the main level is set with tables and chairs and food service is available from the kitchen, right behind those doors, prior to the concert. The venue seats 450 people. In theatre format, the main floor is set with all chairs, and the venue seats 650 people. In standing room format, the main floor has virtually no tables or chairs and the room accommodates 1,000 people.

Leave the café and go down the spiral stairs to the second floor. Enter the loft area.

The loft offers a great view both inside and outside. This is a great place to sit down with a drink after a movie and have a chat with friends while listening to live music downstairs.

The loft contains the Alvin H. Butz gallery which features six exhibits each year. The Fowler Blast Furnace Room (you may enter if no event is in progress) is used for cabaret shows, family shows, dinners and private receptions.

Lead the group down the main staircase to the first floor in front of the Banko cinemas.

The Frank Banko Alehouse Cinema is a two screen cinema featuring independent, foreign, documentary and scientific films along with film festivals and comedy nights. The theatres are 100 seat and 200 seat. The FBAC is one of five cinemas in Pennsylvania where you can bring food and alcoholic beverages that you purchase here into the theatre with you.

The Capital Blue Cross Creativity Commons is the main public hall of the building. Free concerts and children’s programming are presented here on weekends.

Point out the digital art projection on the west wall (if operating). ArtsQuest believes in exhibiting a great variety of artistic formats. Digital art is an important part of today’s art scene. The digital art exhibits here change frequently and give us the opportunity to give exposure to a wide array of artists. If you stay for awhile for lunch, a drink or a sundae, you will have the opportunity to view the current digital show.

Exit the ArtsQuest Center onto Founders Way

“Transformation” by Stephen Antonakos is an abstract formalist sculpture done in painted metal and neon, dedicated at steel stacks in 2011. When constructing the Artsquest Center, a work of public art was sought that would help the building stand out among the industrial buildings around it. According to Antonakos, his work is meant to bridge the two worlds of Bethlehem Steel’s past and the future of this site. In creating “Transformation,” Antonakos wanted to “animate the whole façade and at the same time invite attention to the central doors.” According to the artist, “the small orange projecting form at the left corner is important, too, as it signals to visitors on that side of the building that there is something good around the corner.”

Antonakos, a native of Greece, is perhaps the most well known neon artist living today. His public art works appear throughout the world. In this work, as well as others, Antonakos likes “to say the most with the least means.” With regard to his sculpture at the ArtsQuest Center, he also noted that both neon and iron used in steel are natural elements, which also makes them work well together at the site.

The light behind the sculpture’s forms has a range of aspects over the 24-hour cycle, from dimmest during the day to brightest at night. There is no single way to look at the sculpture “correctly.” Also, the light from the sculpture helps to illuminate the Sands deck above it.

Walk to the corner of Founders Way and Second Street

SANDS CASINO RESORT BETHLEHEM

The huge bridge-like structure you can see in the distance was used to load raw materials such as iron ore and limestone for use in the blast furnaces. A crane carrying a huge clam-shell bucket moved from end to end of the ore bridge while the bridge itself could move the length of the ore yard.

Today, the ore yard is home to the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem. One of the ore bridges, so iconic an image of The Steel, was saved by The Sands to frame the entry to its development. The casino itself is designed using the industrial steel theme. When the Sands built its Casino, it maintained the design elements of the early steel buildings with light monitor and clerestory windows letting daylight into the gaming floor and light fixtures that are evocative of molten iron or steel. The hotel has steel structural elements on the exterior of the building and on the interior has salvaged sculptures illustrating various facets of Bethlehem Steel Corporation.

RTKL Associates, the firm responsible for the design of the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem, is a global architecture and design firm that has consistently been listed as one of the top design firms in the world.

In all their work, the architects and interior designers have used elements of the steel incorporated in the resort. It is an excellent example of fitting a new structure into its geographic place and historical setting.

Offer each tour member a copy of the current “q book” from the counter at the information desk in the ArtsQuest Center. Point out the Just Born( makers of the Peeps, another famous company) Mike and Ike Bistro where they are welcome to have something to eat and drink and the stacks shop where they can obtain all things Steelstacks and Bethlehem Steel. Offer each visitor HBMS brochure and suggest a visit to Historic Moravian Bethlehem, our National Historic Landmark District, and the Kemerer Museum of Decorative Arts where visitors can experience both fine and decorative arts spanning 3 centuries…only five minutes away. If anyone is interested in the history of Bethlehem Steel itself, that tour will begin at …

More information is available in the Stock House Visitor Center. Thank you for coming.