Bethlehem Steel Administration Building

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Photo credit: David Torke, fixBuffalo
and Mike Puma, ViewsOfBuffalo

Location

1966 Fuhrmann Blvd., Lackawanna, NY 14218

Owner

  • Gateway Trade then Steven Detwiler, President, Buffalo Crushed Stone.

NYS Corporation and Business Entity Database.

Physical Description

Beaux Art Classical style stone building.

Current Condition

  • Demolished 2013. Now a gravel-strewn vacant lot.

History

1899: Lackawanna Iron & Steel Co. began moving from Scranton, PA to Stony Point, NY in the Town of West Seneca
1900: Lansing C. Holden, AIA member, drew architectural plans for Administration Building
1901: Administration Building completed including rear laboratory, company town launched.
1909: City of Lackawanna incorporated
1910: South wing in rear added
1919: North wing and northern 1/3 addition to facade added (approximately)
1922: Bethlehem Steel buys out Lackawanna Iron & Steel
1982: Bethlehem Steel closes Lackawanna plant
1983: Richard & Patricia Garman of R&P Oak Hill Construction purchase complex as "Gateway Trade"
2000: New Enterprise Stone & Lime in P.A./Detwiler family buy out Gateway Trade
2002: Coke production ceased at the site
history courtesy Buffalo Rising via Lackawanna Industrial Heritage Group

Recent Events and Actions Taken

  • May 2012 - Owner attempts to use $500,000 RestoreNY grant, intended for an adaptive re-use study, as demolition funds. Demo halted when discovered.
  • Fall 2012 - Interested parties offer to purchase the building or donate to its renovation.
  • Jan 10, 2013 - A controlled demolition starts based on a false report of structural instability
  • Feb 2013 - A previously hidden structural engineering report disproves the basis for emergency demolition by having declared the building structurally sound. Demo permit temporarily halted.
  • March 2013 - Owner briefly agrees to sell to interested parties from previous year. However, a court lifted the hold on the demo order. At this point, workers were instructed to go to the front facade and damage anything of architectural value before proceeding with the demo from the rear.

Other Pertinent Facts

  • The fight to save this building was the impetus for this site's creation.

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Added 2013-01-09 • Last changed 2022-09-24