The SteelStacks Campus is a testament to how a community can honor its industrial past while embracing a vibrant future filled with culture, music and art.
The campus is now a bustling hub for innovation, collective experiences and celebrations, honors the city’s industrial heritage, attracts and inspires future generations and is widely studied as a brownfield redevelopment success story.
Welcome to SteelStacks
SteelStacks is a vibrant 10-acre campus on the former site of Bethlehem Steel in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania’s SouthSide that celebrates arts, culture, family events, community gatherings, education and entertainment.
The SteelStacks campus, reinvigorated by the mission of ArtsQuest, continues to be reimagined and transformed through music, art and community gatherings, hosting over thousands of concerts, festivals and events each year.
For nearly a century, Bethlehem Steel was the economic backbone of the Lehigh Valley, playing a crucial role in providing the infrastructure for our nation and even helping secure victories in both World Wars. The steel produced here built iconic buildings, bridges and naval ships, including the Golden Gate Bridge, The Chrysler Building and parts of the Empire State Building, Madison Square Garden, Alcatraz and the Hoover Dam. However, after nearly 120 years of operation, the Bethlehem Steel plant closed in 1995, leaving behind a vacant industrial site and a void in the local economy.
Rather than demolishing the historic site, the community came together around a bold plan. In 1999, a collaboration between the City of Bethlehem, the Bethlehem Area School District and Northampton County created a Tax Increment Financing (TIF) district on the property, using future tax revenue to revitalize the steel plant’s legacy.
When visitors first arrive on the Southside of Bethlehem and at SteelStacks, the towering blast furnaces, known as the “stacks,” are impossible to miss. These colossal structures were once the heart of Bethlehem Steel’s iron production, and they stand as a lasting tribute to the industrial era. The five blast furnaces continue to be a symbol of Bethlehem’s industrial heritage.
The two largest furnaces soar over 230 feet in height.
From the westernmost furnace (“A”) to the easternmost furnace (“E”), the distance spans approximately 1,100 feet — nearly a quarter of a mile!
The “A” furnace, the oldest, dates back to 1915.
Each furnace produced 2,600-3,000 tons of iron daily.
It took 3,366 pounds of ore, 1,676 pounds of coke and 724 pounds of limestone to produce one ton of iron.
While most of the iron was used in steelmaking, a portion was sent to iron and ingot mold foundries.
The furnaces were last operational on November 18, 1995.
At their peak, there were seven furnaces in operation.
(Source: National Museum of Industrial History, The Story Behind SteelStacks)
In partnership with ArtsQuest, the City of Bethlehem, the Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority, PBS 39 and Wind Creek Event Center (then Sands BethWorks Retail LLC), the site has been transformed into a thriving arts and entertainment district. The vision for SteelStacks was to create a space that would continually highlight the region’s rich cultural heritage while providing a platform for music, art, education and community engagement.
Through a collective effort, nearly $250 million in combined economic and social investment including state and federal grants in addition to generous donations from corporate and private donors, SteelStacks is now one of the most successful brownfield development sites in the nation. As a result, the campus has become a thriving cultural hub, welcoming millions of visitors from near and far all year long.
Since opening in 2011, one+ million people visit SteelStacks annually, with 1,750 free performances (including Musikfest-the nation’s largest free music festival; Levitt Pavilion SteelStacks summer concerts; Oktoberfest; Reggaefest; Sabor; Soccerfest; and more taking place throughout the campus. Additionally, ArtsQuest hosts over 4,000 events each year, featuring local, national and international musicians and comedians, festivals such as the city’s cherished Christkindlmarkt, a variety of visual arts classes and camps, cinema and more – all enriching the cultural landscape of the Lehigh Valley.
