I grew up in Homestead and moved out in 1990. And after seeing this video it's like no time has gone by,certainly not 30+ yrs. Amazed I still have such a vivid memory of that place. Cool video👍
my dad (and his father and brother) worked at Mesta until he was laid off in '81. we lived right up the road on Forest Ave, this was my neighborhood! very interesting to see it as it was when i was a kid again.
Seeing homestead with the old USS plants in place is interesting. I was in Homestead recently. That whole area is now a real estate development (multiple shopping malls, some hotels, offices, apartments, etc.). There's still some steel business left, but not nearly as much as there used to be.
I have never seen the Homestead works in person, but I know I'd rather watch this video then drive to the "waterfront" and buy a DVD. Its a damn shame.
Thankyou for this Upload! Your Uncle was. a Very Knowledgeable Man, was he a Steel Worker or Foreman? His Video Editing was Excellent for 1988 - It wasn't so easy back then! You said he passed not long after this film, he only sounded like a Young Man 🙏😞🥀
The stacks you talk about at 2:00 actually belong to the 45 inch mill soaking pits. This part of the mill heated ingots that were rolled into plates 160" wide.
The 3 identical, but off align, bays at 5:24 are actually still standing. They are not US Steel, they are Synalloy/Bristol Metals. I actually work in them today.
Homestead never had an electric furnace. Duquesne Works did. The open hearths, from OH#5, were numbered 65 to 75. Each furnace could make 375 tons of steel every six hours.
The area you feature at 5:00 was Open Hearth #4. It was part of the original mill. OH#5 was built for the military during World War 2. OH#4 closed after the Vietnam War ended. Homestead Works closed because the market had been flooded with cheap Japanese steel and it simply couldn't compete anymore.
No sense blaming politics, these companies never modernized. Open hearths were late 1800s early 1900s tech. Open hearths need ~5 hours to make steel while a BOF needs ~45 minutes. Blooming mills were also obsolete. With foreign competition using modern BOF and continuous casting tech, our mills couldn't compete, maybe govt could've stepped in but it's not the public's job to fund these plants upkeep while these companies spend money on shareholders and pleasing Wall Street.
And the very first large integrated iron and steel works in the area, as well as the entire US, right? As far as I know, it was opened even earlier than the Bethlehem and Edgar Thomson Works were.
Not sure exactly what your "PGH", is referring to. . But in Pittsburgh, there are quite a few steel mills operating, nothing compared to what was there, but there are still some. Who owns them, and are they US owned ? That's may be a different story.
@@azariacba To my knowledge there never really were any plants in the city, all suburban outskirts. ATI, (Allegheny Ludlum) in Brackenridge, Vandergrift, Baghdad. They headquartered (office space) in the city is about all. Ohio actually had more steel plants, when steel was booming.
CLAIRTON COKE WORKS -CLAIRTON,PA...... EDGAR THOMPSON WORKS - BRADDOCK,PA...... IRVIN WORK'S PLANT- WEST MIFFLIN,PA..... ALL THREE OF THESE SITE'S STILL OPERATE IN THE PITTSBURGH, PA AREA. STILL OPERATED BY UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION......
Only person donnie's committed to helping is Vlad. Donnie says lots of stuff, mostly a stream of lies. Learn to listen intelligently. "Bring them back"? Good luck with that delusion! Wanna buy a bridge?
Let's all thank the democrats (insane enivrowacko policys) and big unions (triple time on your birthday, and you got to sleep most of your shift anyway) for the closing of our heart and soul here in Pittsburgh. We love all the shopping malls and $8 per hour jobs they bring on the site of the Homestead Works! Ooh by the way, the crime is fantastic too!
I grew up in Homestead and moved out in 1990.
And after seeing this video it's like no time has gone by,certainly not 30+ yrs.
Amazed I still have such a vivid memory of that place.
Cool video👍
my dad (and his father and brother) worked at Mesta until he was laid off in '81. we lived right up the road on Forest Ave, this was my neighborhood! very interesting to see it as it was when i was a kid again.
Thanks so much for saving this piece of history.
Does anyone know where I can find footage or photos of the aliquppa works in the 80s
Seeing homestead with the old USS plants in place is interesting. I was in Homestead recently. That whole area is now a real estate development (multiple shopping malls, some hotels, offices, apartments, etc.). There's still some steel business left, but not nearly as much as there used to be.
I have never seen the Homestead works in person, but I know I'd rather watch this video then drive to the "waterfront" and buy a DVD. Its a damn shame.
Thankyou for this Upload! Your Uncle was. a Very Knowledgeable Man, was he a Steel Worker or Foreman? His Video Editing was Excellent for 1988 - It wasn't so easy back then! You said he passed not long after this film, he only sounded like a Young Man 🙏😞🥀
Awesome graphics for 88! Being totoally serious
Thank you - my Uncle Jim (Westinghouse electronic tech) edited the video and did the graphics. Unfortunately, he wasn't great at spelling!
The stacks you talk about at 2:00 actually belong to the 45 inch mill soaking pits. This part of the mill heated ingots that were rolled into plates 160" wide.
The 3 identical, but off align, bays at 5:24 are actually still standing. They are not US Steel, they are Synalloy/Bristol Metals. I actually work in them today.
Carrie Furnaces, not Carey.
Homestead never had an electric furnace. Duquesne Works did. The open hearths, from OH#5, were numbered 65 to 75. Each furnace could make 375 tons of steel every six hours.
The area you feature at 5:00 was Open Hearth #4. It was part of the original mill. OH#5 was built for the military during World War 2. OH#4 closed after the Vietnam War ended. Homestead Works closed because the market had been flooded with cheap Japanese steel and it simply couldn't compete anymore.
Mesta Machine was the site of a Michael Keaton movie, "Gung Ho".
No sense blaming politics, these companies never modernized. Open hearths were late 1800s early 1900s tech. Open hearths need ~5 hours to make steel while a BOF needs ~45 minutes. Blooming mills were also obsolete. With foreign competition using modern BOF and continuous casting tech, our mills couldn't compete, maybe govt could've stepped in but it's not the public's job to fund these plants upkeep while these companies spend money on shareholders and pleasing Wall Street.
Such a shame😔once great factories that served greatly
What no J&L you drove right past it .The birth place of cold rolling.
And the very first large integrated iron and steel works in the area, as well as the entire US, right? As far as I know, it was opened even earlier than the Bethlehem and Edgar Thomson Works were.
How sad that not a single steel mill is left standing in PGH! All that's left is the Carrie Blast Furnace, which extracted iron ingot from ore.
Not sure exactly what your "PGH", is referring to. . But in Pittsburgh, there are quite a few steel mills operating, nothing compared to what was there, but there are still some.
Who owns them, and are they US owned ? That's may be a different story.
@@tuck6464 There are some in the metro area, e.g. the Edgar Thomson Works in Braddock, but none left within Pittsburgh city limits.
@@azariacba To my knowledge there never really were any plants in the city, all suburban outskirts. ATI, (Allegheny Ludlum) in Brackenridge, Vandergrift, Baghdad.
They headquartered (office space) in the city is about all. Ohio actually had more steel plants, when steel was booming.
CLAIRTON COKE WORKS -CLAIRTON,PA...... EDGAR THOMPSON WORKS - BRADDOCK,PA...... IRVIN WORK'S PLANT- WEST MIFFLIN,PA..... ALL THREE OF THESE SITE'S STILL OPERATE IN THE PITTSBURGH, PA AREA. STILL OPERATED BY UNITED STATES STEEL CORPORATION......
I really wish the Works was still dahn ere. They can have their stupid shopping center.
And now you can buy cheap consumer goods made in China where once these great mills stood! Now that's progress.
BassPlayerSusan maybe trump will bring them back like he said he would
Steel City: Well you have obviously heard of Trump imposing tariffs on steel and aluminum: so I believe this will be a big help.
Only person donnie's committed to helping is Vlad. Donnie says lots of stuff, mostly a stream of lies. Learn to listen intelligently. "Bring them back"? Good luck with that delusion! Wanna buy a bridge?
You can thank both the unions and Reagan, who refused to intervene and let steel mills go down under his watch
Let's all thank the democrats (insane enivrowacko policys) and big unions (triple time on your birthday, and you got to sleep most of your shift anyway) for the closing of our heart and soul here in Pittsburgh. We love all the shopping malls and $8 per hour jobs they bring on the site of the Homestead Works! Ooh by the way, the crime is fantastic too!