Pittsburgh Steel Company Donner Avenue - Monessen, Pennsylvania |
JONES & LAUGHLIN STEEL WORKS Southside, Pittsburgh |
Industrial Pittsburgh "The Real Men of Steel" |
ABOUT THESE PHOTOS: These photos were donated to the SteelCactus Foundation by Douglas Haney. Photos restored by the SteelCactus Foundation |
531 East Ohio Street Pittsburgh, PA 15212 (412) 231-7881 |
THE ONLY MUSEUM LIKE IT IN THE U.S.! |
1968 Homestead Works Installing 40 Foot Vertical Boring Mill |
1968 Homestead Works 40 Foot Vertical Boring Machine |
1968 Homestead Works 120 Inch Roll Turning Lathe |
THE COLLAPSE OF STEEL IN PITTSBURGH Free market pressures exposed the U.S. steel industry's own internal problems, which included a now-outdated manufacturing base that had been over-expanded in the 1950s and 1960s, hostile management and labor relationships, the inflexibility of United Steelworkers regarding wage cuts and work-rule reforms, oligarchic management styles, and poor strategic planning by both unions and management. In particular, Pittsburgh faced its own challenges. Local coke and iron ore deposits were depleted, raising material costs. The large mills in the Pittsburgh region also faced competition from newer, more profitable "mini-mills" and non-union mills with lower labor costs. Beginning in the late 1970s and early 1980s, the steel industry in Pittsburgh began to implode along with the deindustrialization of the U.S. Following the 1981â €“1982 recession, for example, the mills laid off 153,000 workers. The steel mills began to shut down. These closures caused a ripple effect, as railroads, mines, and other factories across the region lost business and closed. The local economy suffered a depression, marked by high unemployment and underemployment, as laid-off workers took lower-paying, non-union jobs. Pittsburgh suffered as elsewhere in the Rust Belt with a declining population, and like many other U.S. cities, it also saw white flight to the suburbs. In 1984 the Homestead Works was demolished, replaced in 1999 by The Waterfront shopping mall. As a direct result of the loss of mill employment, the number of people living in Homestead dwindled. By the time of the 2000 census, the borough population was 3,569. The borough began financially recovering in 2002, with the enlarging retail tax base. |