Bethlehem Steel

A great deal of historical information about Bethlehem Steel can be found at BAPL including company reports, photographs, books, journals, pamphlets, press clippings, and much more. Please visit the Bethlehem Room at the Main Library for access to these materials. Some information on the early history can be found online here.

Bethlehem Steel was one of the largest steel producing companies in the world and a major force in the history of our city. Its origins go back to 1857; mergers formed what became officially known as “Bethlehem Steel” in 1904. The company officially dissolved in 2003, but 1995 is marked as the date of the “last cast” at the Bethlehem plant. See information on the last days of the Steel plant here.

You can search our newspaper database here using your library card.

Two early issues of the company’s magazine for employees can be found below. It was initially known as “Bethlehem Steel” and then renamed “Bethlehem Booster.”

» Issue One (BETHLEHEM STEEL, VOL 1, MAY 1, 1918, NO 1)

» Issue Two (BETHLEHEM STEEL, VOL 1, MAY 15, 1918, NO 2)

For more information on the history of Bethlehem Steel, visit the Steelworkers Archive.

Photograph by Dylan Sauerwein