Mon Valley Steel Works Driving Tour 1988 - Part 1

This is a video that my uncle and I shot in 1988 to document the numerous steel works in Pittsburgh's Monongahela Valley. By 1988, most of these old and famous steel mills had been closed and were awaiting demolition. In fact, within a couple of years, most of these works were torn down so that very little evidence of these once great manufacturing plants remains. My uncle did the graphics for the video, doing his best to interpret my place names. However, the titles include a few misspellings (Carey Furnaces rather than Carrie Furnaces, and Edgar Thompson rather than Edgar Thomson, for example). Unfortunately, Uncle Jim passed away soon after this video was made, and only he knew how to operate the Amiga software. I apologize for those inaccuracies, since they were the fault of my diction rather than Uncle Jim's expertise. I hope you enjoy this trip through the history of our Mon Valley.

Category:

Travel & Events

Tags:

• Mon
• Valley
• Steel
• Works
• Driving
• Tour
• 1988
• Part

[BassPlayerSusan]

And now you can buy cheap consumer goods made in China where once these great mills stood! Now that's progress.

[22cummins]

cat955-Not just the unions and the democrats that ruined the steel in PGH. blame the companies too they arent innocent. They didnt keep up with the times.The use of BOF technology that was around in europe since the late 40's didnt make it to the states until the late 60's. Too little too late. Bad corperate decisions like buying Marathon Oil by USS for 2 billion instead of reinvesting in the steel making. Bad decsions on every side of the table are the ones who ruined steel in the Mon Valley

[Caterpillar955]

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!

[djstrains]

Thanks so much for saving this piece of history.

[LostMonongahela]

Great video, glad you had the foresight to video tape the mils when you did.