“The man who has done his best has done
everything. The man who has done less than his best has done nothing.”
~ Charles M. Schwab
~ 1862 ~ 1939
~ American steel magnate, President &
Chairman of Bethlehem Steel ~ under his leadership, Bethlehem Steel became the
second-largest steel maker in the United States, and one of the most important
heavy manufacturers in the world.
The
iconic rusted blast furnaces of the former Bethlehem Steel in Southside
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania stand tall along the Lehigh River, framed by the green
leaves of spring against a steel blue sky, on a gorgeous early May afternoon
along the Delaware & Lehigh National Heritage Corridor (D&L Trail).
I
captured this scene after setting out from the D&L Trailhead at Sand
Island, Bethlehem.
Bethlehem
Steel was an American steel and shipbuilding company that began operations in
1904 and was America’s second-largest steel producer and largest shipbuilder.
The company’s roots trace to 1857 with the establishment of the Bethlehem Iron
Company. Bethlehem Steel stopped producing steel in November 1995, and the
company was dissolved in 2003. It was one of the world’s leading steel
manufacturers for most of the 20th century.
Much of
the former home plant of Bethlehem Steel, the second largest steel manufacturer
in the nation, has been transformed into SteelStacks, a ten-acre campus dedicated to arts, culture, family
events, community celebrations, education and fun. SteelStacks has indoor and
outdoor venues, hosting festivals, concerts and community events.
Running
from Wilkes-Barre to Bristol, the D&L Trail passes through the Lehigh and
Delaware Rivers and their canals in Pennsylvania.
Steel
blue is a shade of blue color that resembles blue steel, i.e. steel which has
been subjected to bluing for protection from rust. The first recorded use of
steel blue as a color name in English was in 1817.
