I went to see friend and singer/songwriter Dan May perform last night at the new Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks. This is a new outside venue built right up against the still standing tall and proud Bethlehem Steel manufacturing facility’s 5 blast furnaces.
The Bethlehem Steel Corporation (1857–2003) was once the second-largest steel producer in the United States, one of the largest shipbuilding companies in the world and one of the most powerful symbols of American manufacturing excellence.
You can’t help but look at the immensity of the facility and the catwalks that snake around the entire structure with awe, knowing that men walked those dangerous yet necessary catwalks for almost 150 years. It was eerie to be there after the sun went down but eerie in a good way. The SteelStacks are lit with a red light at night that only enhanced what was already a beautiful full-mooned summer evening.
How wonderful that the powers-that-be made the choice, the right choice, to leave these structures intact and build venues and entertainment areas around this landmark. It’s man-made, not made by whatever higher power you believe in, but it is as majestic and as big a part of America as the Grand Canyon.
