By Steve Cichon
steve@buffalostories.com
@stevebuffalo
Our steel producing heritage—One of the things that makes Buffalo Buffalo.
We often talk about and remember Bethlehem Steel, and with good reason.
At one point, Lackawanna’s Bethlehem Rte. 5 complex was the world’s largest steel plant. At one point, the plant employed more than 20,000 men.
Just as amazing to think about is that there were nearly as many men working in other steel plants around WNY as well.
The Republic Steel Plant on South Park Avenue at the Buffalo River in South Buffalo was one of the biggest.
Now the site of the Elon Musk and Panasonic solar panel plant, but in 1950—the Cleveland based Republic Steel was making plans to increase the South Buffalo plant’s production to 900,000 tons of steel per year. Nearly a million tons of steel at Buffalo’s second largest steel plant.
The plant was closed and demolished in the mid 1980s and again, is currently the site for the state-funded RiverBend project.
More:
Torn-Down Tuesday: Signs of Bethlehem Steel along Route 5
Torn-down Tuesday: Bethlehem Steel from the air
Buffalo in the 60s: Bethlehem Steel builds Buff State
Buffalo in the 50s: South Buffalo’s Republic Steel aims for nearly a million tons
Buffalo in the 40s: Before SolarCity, there was National Aniline and Republic Steel at RiverBend
Buffalo in the 70’s: Steelworkers called back to work
