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Guide to the Photographs of United States Steel Corporation, Duquesne Steel Works, 1913-1979

Repository
Heinz History Center
Title
United States Steel Corporation, Duquesne Steel Works Photographs
Creator
United States Steel. Duquesne Works (Duquesne, Pa.)
Collection Number
MSP#42
Extent
.5 cubic feet (1 box)
Date
1913-1979
Abstract
The Duquesne Steel Company began operations in 1886 as a steel rail manufacturer for railroads. In 1888 investors sold the plant to the Allegheny Bessemer Steel Company which in turn sold it to Carnegie Steel Corporation two years later. By 1896 the Duquesne Steel Works, as it would later be referred to, became a fully integrated facility with the addition of two blast furnaces for the production of pig iron. These photographs depict plant production facilities at the Duquesne Steel Works under construction and in full operation.
Language
The material in this collection is in English.
Author
This guide to the collection was originally prepared by Stephen Doell on July 14, 1993. Revisions occurred to the finding aid as a part of the encoding process in Winter, 2001-2002.
Sponsor
This finding aid has been encoded as a part of the Historic Pittsburgh project a joint effort of the University of Pittsburgh and the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Funding for this portion of the project has been donated by the Hillman Foundation.
Publisher
Heinz History Center
Address
1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org

History

The Duquesne Steel Company began operations in 1886 as a steel rail manufacturer for railroads. In 1888, investors sold the plant to the Allegheny Bessemer Steel Company, which sold it to Carnegie Steel Corporation in 1890. By 1896 the Duquesne Steel Works, as it would later be called, became a fully integrated facility with the addition of two blast furnaces for the production of pig iron. In previous years, the raw iron material had to be purchased from competitors, shipped to Duquesne and processed into the finished steel product.

In 1901, Andrew Carnegie sold his steel corporation to J. Pierpont Morgan and other prominent investors who then created the United States Steel Corporation (USS). U.S. Steel was comprised of subsidiary companies, and Duquesne Works continued to be managed as a part of the USS subsidiary, Carnegie Steel Company. In 1936, the subsidiary's name was changed to the Carnegie-Illinois Steel Company. Duquesne Steel Works experienced a slow but steady expansion and addition period until 1941. The most significant change at this time was the construction of modern electric furnaces for the production of ferromanganese. With the entrance of the United States into World War II, Duquesne Works became a Defense Plant Corporation site and endured a rapid expansion for the production of war material. The 1940s marked Duquesne's peak employment and production period, with nearly 9,000 workers sweating over thirty-two open hearth furnaces. The next major addition to the facility was the large blooming-slopping mills, one-half mile in length, in 1958.

In 1963 U.S. Steel built a basic oxygen process (BOP) steel making furnace at Duquesne Works. While the BOP furnace was considered "modern" technology by American standards, the Japanese and German steel manufacturers had instituted this steel making process by the early 1950s. The BOP furnace performed profitably for USS throughout the 1970s, but its usefulness waned by the early 1980s. U.S. Steel announced the closure of Duquesne Works in 1984. A coalition of United Steelworkers, community leaders, and politicians calling themselves the Tri-State Conference on Steel attempted to block the closing of the Duquesne Works' Dorothy Six furnace. "Save Dorothy" became the rallying cry of protesters in the Pittsburgh area. The closure went through and the Duquesne Works facilities were demolished in 1988.

Scope and Content Notes

The Duquesne Steel Works Photograph Collection are housed in one archival box and arranged alphabetically by folder title. These photographs depict plant production facilities at the Duquesne Steel Works under construction and in full operation. Also included are photographs from the Masonry department's annual employee picnic in 1978 and 1979, and photographs of the Blast Furnace Safety Committee from 1913.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

These records came in one accession with MSS# 42 Records of United States Steel Corporation, Duquesne Steel Works in 1990.

Acc# 1990.02 Gift of the Regional Industrial Development Corporation (Records. The Corporation is the owner of the property that was the site of the Duquesne Works).

Preferred Citation

Photographs of United States Steel Corporation, Duquesne Steel Works, 1913-1979, MSP# 42, Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania.

Processing Information

This collection was processed by Stephen Doell on July 14, 1993.

Revision and rearrangement for the encoded version of the finding aid provided by Doug MacGregor on February 14, 2002.

Conditions Governing Use

Property rights reside with the Historical Society of Western Pennsylvania. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permissions to reproduce or publish, please contact the curator of the Archives.

Subjects

    Corporate Names

    • United States Steel Corporation -- Duquesne Works

    Geographic Names

    • Duquesne (Pa.) -- Commerce
    • Duquesne (Pa.) -- Industry

    Other Subjects

    • Industrial safety -- photographs
    • Steel foundries -- Construction -- Pennsylvania
    • Steel industry and trade -- Pennsylvania -- Duquesne
    • Women iron and steel workers -- Pennsylvania

Container List