Guide to the Armco Steel Photographic Slides 1950-1999
- Head
Descriptive Summary
- Repository
- Heinz History Center
- Title
- Armco Steel Photographic Slides
- Creator
- Armco Steel Corporation
- Collection Number
- MSS 921
- Language
- The material in this collection is in English.
- Language
- English , English .
- Extent
- 1.5 linear feet 1 box, 6 film reels
- Date
- 1950-1999
- Abstract
- The Armco Steel Corporation, predecessor of the AK Steel Holdings Corporation, manufactured domestic steel for nearly a century. Armco expanded its operations after twenty years of business on Ohio and opened a mill in Ambridge, Pa., in the early 20th century. The Armco Steel Slides consists of photographic slides documenting the Ambridge plant, depicting equipment, workers, and aerial views of the facility.
- Sponsor
- This collection has been made accessible as part of an NHPRC-funded Basic Processing grant.
- Publisher
- Heinz History Center
- Address
-
1212 Smallman St.
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15222
library@heinzhistorycenter.org
URL: https://www.heinzhistorycenter.org
History
The Armco Steel Corporation, established in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1899 as the American Rolling Mill Company, produced rolled steel for other manufacturers to use in their own products. After twenty years of operations, the company began to expand, opening other facilities in Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. In 1948 the acronym Armco was adopted, and the company became the Armco Steel Corporation to better reflect its expanding operations.
The Ambridge, Pa., mill primarily manufactured tubes used in oil piping. Overseas competition caused United States steel production to dwindle, and Armco eventually closed its Ambridge facility in the 1980s. Armco is most commonly associated with the crash barriers they produced for roadsides and auto-racing tracks. In the United Kingdom, these barriers are often referred to as "Armco barriers." In 1993, Armco moved its headquarters to Pittsburgh and renamed itself the AK Steel Holdings Corporation to reflect its existing partnership with Kawasaki Steel. Its headquarters returned to the greater Cincinnati area in 1995.
Scope and Content Notes
The Armco Steel Photographic Slides consists of images documenting the daily operations of the Ambridge, Pa., plant. The collection also includes six educational 16mm films. Box 1 contains 35mm slides which depict equipment, workers, steel processing, and shipping docks. The films are educational in nature, and include a 30 minute Walt Disney production entitled Steel and America ; the National Education Program's Communists on Campus; a film on collective bargaining entitled You Are There at the Bargaining Table, which is accompanied by a conference kit; a 1972 film entitled Where's Joe?, sponsored by the United Steelworkers of America; a 1999 film on drilling oil wells entitled Makin' Hole; and an unidentified 20 minute film.
Conditions Governing Access
None.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Gift from Dorothy Metelsky in 1999.
Archives accession # 1999.0145
Preferred Citation
Armco Steel Photographic Slides, 1950-1999, MSS 921 , Library and Archives Division, Senator John Heinz History Center
Processing Information
This collection was processed by Nick Hartley on 02/20/2013.
Conditions Governing Use
Property rights reside with the Senator John Heinz History Center. Literary rights are retained by the creators of the records and their heirs. For permission to reproduce or publish, please contact the Library and Archives of the Senator John Heinz History Center.