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Save Our Steel in the News
South Bethlehem: renaissance on the horizon
From The Morning Call --
April 12, 2004
South Bethlehem is on the brink of a renaissance not seen since before the birth of the
Bethlehem Steel Corp. We cannot, we must not, allow this great opportunity to pass to
mold the future of one of the city's most precious assets.
A coalition of concerned citizens including Historic Bethlehem Inc., the Save Our Steel
group, National Museum of Industrial History, the City of Bethlehem, the Nature
Conservancy, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Center for the Humanities, the Mayor's South Side
Task Force, South Bethlehem Historic Society, Lehigh University, ArtsQuest-Banana
Factory, the Steel Workers' Historic Archives, all local senators and congressmen, and
many other groups and individuals have been actively involved in preparing a proposal
for ISG (the plant's owner) to help plan the future of this vital part of the city's
future.
It is imperative that all citizens become aware and involved in this process. Plenty of
space abounds on the property for the museum, the ball field, and various entertainment
and retail development. A careful and tasteful rehabilitation of some of the existing
structures similar to the Johnson Machinery project, St. Luke's Union Station and the
Banana Factory could make the plant ''the gem in the center of the necklace'' lining the
Lehigh and Delaware rivers from Lehighton to Easton to Philadelphia.
Bethlehem has the chance to permanently become part of this vibrant and permanent
endeavor. Now is the time to be heard.
Roger J. Hudak
Bethlehem
Mayor's South Side Task Force
Copyright © 2004,
The Morning Call
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