Architecture: Bethlehem Steel North Office

When David Torke photographed the wrecking equipment behind the Bethlehem Steel North Office and posted it on his blog, fix Buffalo, there was community alarm that this beautifully designed old building would be demolished leaving this entire waterfront area devoid of any attraction. While the building is terribly deteriorated there is still potential for it to have a second life. Lackawanna, where the building sits and just barely beyond the city limits, had no preservation society.

And so the Lackawanna Industrial Heritage Group was formed and held a meeting about how to preserve the North Office of the Bethlehem Steel plantation. “Old North” was the finest building constructed by the Pennsylvanian Lackawanna Steel Company which the city itself was named for. The preservation effort was so successful that Preservation Nation recognized their efforts providing even more details on the building’s history. What’s New Buffalo will recognize their effort by posting several pictures of Old North throughout the day.