The steel mill that once fueled America’s prosperity was once a symbol of American manufacturing leadership. Its steel was used in the construction of many of America's largest and most famed structures including the Chrysler and Empire State buildings, Madison Square Garden and Rockefeller Center.
The Ashtabula Plant was a coal-fired power station located along Lake Erie and was part of a trio of small power plants in the Cleveland area that were closed in 2015. Owner FirstEnergy Corp. shut down a total of six coal-fired plants in the region during that period. Together, the six power plants had the capacity to generate nearly 2,700 megawatts of electricity—enough to power more than 600,000 homes.
First built in 1894, the US Steel Company in produced its first blast furnace in 1899. By 1901, the mill was reorganized once again to US Steel and only retained that name for a few more years. From 1904 until 1986, the mill was called the National Tube Company, which was a division of US Steel.
The Scranton Lace Company in Scranton, Pennsylvania, was established in 1890. From 1916 to 2002, the company remained the first and largest known producer of Nottingham Lace in the United States. The company produced tablecloths, napkins, valances, and shower curtains, among many other types of lace items. The Scranton Lace Company used the largest Nottingham looms ever created. Each was imported from England and weighed more than 20 tons. At one time, the company had bowling alleys in the basement, a fully staffed infirmary, a staff barber, and a gymnasium.
There are fewer more potent symbols of dirty energy than coal-fired power plants. Over the last decade, the U.S. has seen a 40 percent decline in coal-fired generation, but not due to our warming attitude towards the environment, but because much cheaper fossil fuels like natural gas being readily abundant.
Schlitz was favorably known as “the beer that made Milwaukee famous.” The Schlitz brewhouse at the Schlitz Industrial Park in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was originally erected in 1890 – the brewhouse has been shut down since 1982. Another famous Milwaukee beer brand, Pabst, purchased controlling shares of Schlitz in 1999 with its acquisition of the Stroh Brewery Company.
The Richmond Power Plant’s nestled along the Delaware River opened in 1925 to service the growing northeast population of Philadelphia. The turbine hall is one of the biggest open rooms ever designed and once housed the world’s largest Westinghouse turbo generators. Closed in 1985, the location still has been frequented by several Hollywood productions, serving as the backdrop to one of Michael Bay's grotesque Transformer movies, as well as having one of its massive generators being the time machine used by Brad Pitt in 12 Monkeys.
