In 2001, the unthinkable happened when Bethlehem Steel declared
bankruptcy after nearly a century and a half of making iron and steel
for bridges, buildings, dams, railroad rail, ships, armor plating,
armaments, and numerous other products. When the flagship plant in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, closed, it sat abandoned for some years before
the hallowed site was repurposed with a casino, hotel, restaurants, and
shops. During the time in between, Steven M. Landis had rare, sanctioned
access to photograph the derelict plant, capturing incredible
photography of many never-before-seen and likely never-to-be-seen-again
perspectives by climbing everything he could, both inside and outside
the abandoned buildings, including to the top of the blast furnaces.
When combined with his artistic eye, the viewers will find that Steven's
camerawork truly "elevates" Bethlehem Steel photography. His dad, John
K. Landis, subsequently became an Historic Bethlehem Museums and Sites
tour guide in 2019 and began showing those photographs--published here
for the first time--to visitors in order to reveal sections of the
shuttered plant that were inaccessible or altogether gone. John wrote
the accompanying text after hosting hundreds of Bethlehem Steel plant
tours.
