An International City Forged from Steel

If you ask the majority of the people in Lorain County and the surrounding area what the city of Lorain is known for it would more than likely be the steel mill and the cultural diversity. With the International Festival this weekend I thought now would be a perfect time to ride into Southern Lorain and do a post about the steel mill and how it turned Lorain into the "International City".

22 Miles.

In 1894 construction was started on a steel mill in South Lorain. This came about after the proposition that if city officials could widen and straighten the Black River the Johnson Steel Street Rail Company of Johnstown, Pennsylvania would move their operations to Lorain. This obviously was approved and construction was started on the new Lorain Mill and in 1895 the first steel was shipped from the newly appointed Bessemer Steel Works to New York City. That same year the Lake Terminal Railroad Company came into existence to start shipping steel by rail in addition to lake liners.

The Lake Terminal Railroad Station as it sits today in front of the mill.

The steel mill initially made the railways for the Lake Shore Electric Railway and other interurban street cars in the area.

The rollers that used to make the railway tracks. (Dennis Lamont)

In 1898 the company was reorganized and changed their name to the Lorain Steel Company and in 1899 the first blast furnaces were completed. In 1901 the mill became a subsidiary of the United States Steel Corporation, a name that a portion of the plant still holds today.

The steel mill as seen from across the Black River. The only word to describe it is massive. It is also heavily guarded and I had to delete some close up shots I took from the front of the complex in front of an irate security guard.

Arial view of the mill. It is just over 2 miles in length. (Google Maps)

In 1903 construction began on the pipe mill section of the steel mill. This is the eastern portion of the mill. In 1923 the steel mill began recruiting workers from Mexico to support the already (mostly European) workers meet production quotas. Lorain was very quickly becoming the international city it is today. Over the next 85 years the steel mill flourished and grew with their merge with Republic Steel, but in 2008 it looked as though Lorain may lose steel for good.

Crane that moves the steel tubing to the railways and/or trucks. Also taken from across the river.

In 2008 due to the drop in the national economy it was too costly to keep the mill running and the blast furnaces were shut down. Hundreds of employees were laid off and the city's residents thought that the last remaining industry in Lorain would finally be closing up shop, but that wasn't the case. In 2011 the Republic Steel portion of the mill announced plans to build a new, more efficient electric arch furnace. This furnace was completed this year and has reintroduced many jobs creating steel tubes once more. Even though it is still only a shadow of what it once was, the hope is that Lorain Steel will grow once more and continue to operate long into the future. (Lorain Public Library)

Lorain International Festival

In 1967 there were 55 different nationalities in the city of Lorain. Volunteers banded together to create a festival to recognize and showcase the different cultures in the city. This was the year that the city became known as the "International City". Every year a different ethnicity is showcased in the festival. In 1967 it was the Ukraine, this year it is Poland.

International flags in front of city hall.

The festival consists of a parade, contests, festival, concerts, dancing and food, glorious food. It is one of the few things that city residents come together and enjoy as a group these days.

Black River Landing. Where the festival is held.

Once again thank you for reading. I hope you enjoyed this post and I promise I will stay clear of Lorain for a bit (this sounds familiar).

Obligatory Italian Flag. As my grandfather who worked in the Steel Mill would say "Mangia!"

Miscellaneous Photographs

This is actually two bridges over the Black River leading to the mill. The yellow one is the railroad bridge and black one is for vehicles. Not sure if either are in use still.

Sign on Broadway. The city was originally called Charleston and later changed to Lorain.

Rose Garden in Lakeview Park in bloom. My wife and her girlscout troop helped put this in when the metroparks took over the park.

Another angle.

Close up.