Posted February 8, 201213 yr Aliquippa, Pennsylvania was named after Queen Alliquippa, the leader of the Seneca tribe of Native Americans in the 18th century. The Jones and Laughlin Steel Company constructed a mill in Aliquippa in 1905, which brought prosperity to the town in the pre-WWII era. By the time of the depression, in 1930, the population was 27,000. The mill closed in the 1980s. This, along with suburbanization, brought an end to the prosperity of the town. Today, the population stands at only 9,438. Most of the buildings downtown are abandoned. For more photos, visit my blog: http://www.jonathondenson.com
February 8, 201213 yr A shame. "You don't just walk into a bar and mix it up by calling a girl fat" - buildingcincinnati speaking about new forumers
February 8, 201213 yr Great shots! Dig the architecture. Even the newer Post Office looks cool. I'm actually inspired by the potential there...I guess I've seen many towns here in Ohio that look way worse. I hope they can preserve it enough for the future.
February 8, 201213 yr That's truly horrific!! I went up into downtown Aliquippa once in the early 1990s right after the J&L Aliquippa Works closed but still stood. You could see the downtown had seen better days, but it still fairly active. To see this is heartbreaking. Part of the problem with downtown Aliquippa is that it's off the beaten path, which is State Route 51. I have traveled that route numerous times since the 1980s, but been up into downtown only once. I guess not many other people have either. BTW, you showed the abandoned train station in Aliquippa. It was served by 8-12 daily, 75-mph passenger trains from Cleveland on the Erie RR (Erie-Lackawanna after 1960, via North Randall, Solon, Aurora, etc) through Youngstown to the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie. It was last served in 1985 by the P&LE commuter train between College (Beaver Falls) and downtown Pittsburgh (today's Station Square). Here's some pictures I have of J&L's Aliquippa Works from the 1980s right around the time it shut down (I think it was 1984-85), plus some comparison then-and-now satellite views.... 1989: 1989: Overview, 1969: Overview, 2006: Downtown detail, 1952: Downtown detail, 2010: "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 8, 201213 yr Look at all of those beautiful pig iron blast furnaces. It's a shame we can't build new units today due to environmental regulations, as the electric arc furnaces cannot match the quality or output of a pig iron. KJP, here are more interior photos of the mill from just after it closed: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10077757@N00/sets/72157603817998136/with/2226657795/
February 8, 201213 yr Look at all of those beautiful pig iron blast furnaces. It's a shame we can't build new units today due to environmental regulations, as the electric arc furnaces cannot match the quality or output of a pig iron. KJP, here are more interior photos of the mill from just after it closed: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10077757@N00/sets/72157603817998136/with/2226657795/ Yep, that's where I stole er, borrowed a couple of the pics posted above. "In the souls of the people the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage." -- John Steinbeck
February 8, 201213 yr Look at all of those beautiful pig iron blast furnaces. It's a shame we can't build new units today due to environmental regulations, as the electric arc furnaces cannot match the quality or output of a pig iron. KJP, here are more interior photos of the mill from just after it closed: http://www.flickr.com/photos/10077757@N00/sets/72157603817998136/with/2226657795/ dont worry china and south korea took up the slack. it never ceases to amaze me how they can make and ship steel and steel products back to the usa more cheaply than just make it here. heavy steel for petes sake! of course that gets into labor issues too. awww man them jobs is long gone, gone. meanwhile facebook, which is just...nothing, is worth bazillions. funny world.
February 8, 201213 yr dont worry china and south korea took up the slack. ... That's probably where all the heavy scrap from those mills went.
February 27, 201213 yr Western PA is chalk full of depressing towns like this. The steel mill towns are bad enough, but I have found the coal towns to be even more depressing.
February 27, 201213 yr I grew up across the river in Ambridge. Sad to see. Great pictures, did you get over to West Aliquippa?
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