The demolition of the L Blast Furnace at Bethlehem Steel in Sparrows Point recently brought about the end of an era to a Baltimore County icon. The mill was a place where generations of steel making families worked. During its many years of operation The Baltimore Sun has been there to document the company from industry giant to its final collapse. The Darkroom decided to take a look back at some of the memorable photos over the decades.
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Clik here to view.![April 24, 2003 - In the break room in the basic oxygen furnace building, At Bethlehem Steel, millwrights wait to put the furnace back on line. Left to right: Mike Bochenick, 39, (w/ co. for 7 yrs.); crew leader Howard Wilmer, 60 (w/ co. for 39 years); Don Webster, 34 (w/ co. for 6 1/2 years); and Fred Mathews, 52, (w/ co. for 7 yrs). (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![April 9, 2003 - Molten metal heats in the Furnace at Bethlehem Steel at Sparrows Point. At the time the Sparrows Point plant turned out about 4 million tons of steel per year. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![April 24,2003 - An old cart sits next to some rusty lockers in the Bethlehem Steel Plant at Sparrows Point. The company changed hands as part of a $1.5 billlion sale to International Steel Group Inc. (ISG) Its steel mills, including the Sparrows Pint complex in Baltimore County. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![APRIL 9, 2003 - A lone employee enters the massive doorway to the L Furnace at Bethlehem Steel at Sparrows Point. In better days in the late 1950s, Sparrows Point's mill and shipyards throughout Baltimore's waterfront, had more than 45,000 employees. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![Feburary 20, 2007 - Mittal Steel Co. was odered to sell its Sparrows Point mill in a ruling by the Justice Department. (Doug Kapustin/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![July 22, 2005 - John Cirri, president of USW Local 9477, said at the time workers are trying to make best of the transition from Beth Steel to ISG (International Steel Group Sparrows Point LLC), now to Mittal, the Netherlands-based steel conglomerate. (Chiaki Kawajiri/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![March 21, 2008 - Ownership at Sparrows Point has changed hands again. OAO Severstal, a Russian steel company acquired the steel mill in a trust sale. Union leader John Cirri, President of Local 9477 of the USW, and Sparrows Point GM Tom Russo hoped the sale will inject capital into the plant and they can ramp up to full production and create some new jobs. (Andre F. Chung/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![January 23, 2013 - A Hilco employee at left, and two bidders chat in the Truck Dock 10 while waiting for the auction bus. This was the first day of a two-day auction by Hilco Trading at Sparrows Point. Items auctioned were tools and machinery used at the former steel mill. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![January 23, 2013 - A security person walks past the "Heppenstalls" (named after the manufacturer) tongs used for picking up steel slabs. This was the first day of a two-day auction by Hilco Trading at Sparrows Point. Items auctioned were tools and machinery used at the former steel mill. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![January 23, 2013 - Machinery is up for auction in the Tin Mill. This was the first day of a two-day auction by Hilco Trading at Sparrows Point. Items auctioned were tools and machinery used at the former steel mill. (Algerina Perna/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![January 28, 2015 - The "L" Blast Furnace began casting iron in 1978 for Bethlehem Steel, and was used by subsequent owners until operations ceased in 2012. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![January 28, 2015 - Detail of pipes on the "L" Blast Furnace at Sparrows Point as workers from Controlled Demolition, Inc. in partnership with MCM Industrial Services, prepare for the implosion of the furnace. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![January 28, 2015 - Dan Doran, a member of Local 37 working for MCM Industrial Services, looks up at the "L" Blast Furnace and the surrounding area at Sparrows Point . (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![January 28, 2015 - A Controlled Demolition worker checks the detonation lines. Last views of the "L" Blast Furnace at Sparrows Point as workers from Controlled Demolition, Inc. in partnership with MCM Industrial Services, prepare for the implosion of the furnace. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![January 28, 2015 - The top of the "L" Blast Furnace at Sparrows Point as workers from Controlled Demolition, Inc. in partnership with MCM Industrial Services, prepare for the implosion of the furnace. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![January 28, 2015 - Detail of the "L" Blast Furnace at Sparrows Point as workers from Controlled Demolition, Inc. in partnership with MCM Industrial Services, prepare for the implosion of the furnace. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![January 28, 2015 - Malcolm Addison, who worked at Bethlehem Steel for 30 years, stands near the "L" Blast Furnace at Sparrows Point as workers from Controlled Demolition, Inc. in partnership with MCM Industrial Services, prepare for the implosion of the furnace. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![January 28, 2015 - Detail of pipes on the "L" Blast Furnace at Sparrows Point as workers from Controlled Demolition, Inc. in partnership with MCM Industrial Services, prepare for the implosion of the furnace. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![January 28, 2015 - A seagull flies by shortly before the implosion of the "L" Blast Furnace by Controlled Demolition, Inc. in partnership with MCM Industrial Services, the company which has been overseeing the overall demolition at Sparrows Point. The Furnace began casting iron in 1978 for Bethlehem Steel, and was used by subsequent owners until operations ceased in 2012. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![January 28, 2015 - The implosion of the "L" Blast Furnace was completed by Controlled Demolition, Inc. in partnership with MCM Industrial Services, the company which has been overseeing the overall demolition at Sparrows Point. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![January 28, 2015 - The implosion of the "L" Blast Furnace was completed by Controlled Demolition, Inc. in partnership with MCM Industrial Services, the company which has been overseeing the overall demolition at Sparrows Point. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)]()
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Clik here to view.![January 28, 2015 - The implosion of the "L" Blast Furnace was completed by Controlled Demolition, Inc. in partnership with MCM Industrial Services, the company which has been overseeing the overall demolition at Sparrows Point. (Amy Davis/Baltimore Sun)]()
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