On a clear, comfortable and sunny Saturday morning, retired steelworker Joe Mayer escorts a 12 person group of people interested in steelmaking history at the former home plant of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation. These visitors are from Bethlehem, Quakertown, Indiana, New Jersey, and Germany via New York City.

Mayer, with a 22-year career as a supervisor in various departments, is a walking encyclopedia as he relates information about buildings, steelmaking processes and the movers and shakers behind the growth of Bethlehem Steel into the No. 2 steelmaker in the United States during its heyday. He is also president of the Steelworkers’ Archives, who sponsor and give the tours guided by former steelworkers or people trained to be guides by former steel workers.

The information provided is historically accurate and includes first hand experiences from former steelworkers.

The tour begins at the National Museum of Industrial History, which is located in a refurbished former Bethlehem Steel plant building. In 2024 the Museum and Archives decided to partner on the tours, which last 90 minutes.

When participants are told that Bethlehem Steel produced a ship each day in 1943 during World War II, to support America’s and its allies war effort, there is a sense of disbelief among them. “People ask me when were ships made here,” Mayer tells the group. “This plant made the steel,” he says, and then relates that Bethlehem Steel had ship- building facilities on the west, gulf and east coasts.

Mayer lists iconic structures and bridges that were built using Bethlehem Steel, such as the Golden Gate and George Washington bridges and the Empire State Building, Rockefeller Center and Madison Square Garden

“There is 99 years of steelmaking history at this site,” says Mayer who adds that attendance numbers have been quite supportive.

Public and private tours are given Thursday and Friday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Tickets may be purchased at the National Museum of Industrial History and ArtsQuest Visitor Center in person and online, according to Mayer, who says reservations may also be made by calling the Steelworkers’ Archives at 610-861-0600. A tour ticket costs $15 and people aged 12 and under may attend for free.

Bethlehem Steel made its last steel in 1995 at the home plant, and the 75-year-old Mayer says the remaining steelworkers are aging quickly. “We need younger guides so the remaining steelworkers can train them,“ he says. Anyone interested may contact the above listed number at the Archives.

“It’s a way of life gone forever,” says Mayer.