Forty members from the Society for Industrial Archeology wanted to see firsthand the history behind how the 67-year-old building made the transformation from a Navy World War II ammunition plant.
"We are really happy that they chose to visit our site, and we take a lot of pride in being housed in this historic building," GalvTech operations leader Paul Mula said Thursday. "We helped bring steel back to this area, and I am glad we have the opportunity to show that to them."
The society, which is holding its national convention in Pittsburgh this week, is a nonprofit organization formed in 1971 that promotes the study, appreciation and preservation of historic industrial sites, structures, artifacts and technology.
Members come from a variety of professions and include architects, archaeologists, engineers, industrialists, teachers and students.
Society spokesman Patrick Martin, an archaeology professor at Michigan Technological University, said the group came to Pittsburgh to better understand its steel heritage.
"Pittsburgh is a great place to study the industrial industry," Martin said. "The more people know the history here, the more they appreciate it, and the more they will likely support efforts that go with understanding and possibly preserving it."
The organization publishes a semi-annual journal, a quarterly newsletter and posts industrial news and building preservation projects on its Web site, www.siahq.org.
Members gather every year for a spring conference, last held in Pittsburgh in 1993, where members tour industrial sites to better understand industrial trends and history.
Christopher Marston, an architect for the National Park Service in Washington, said some members have worked on local projects such as the preservation of Homestead's Pump House, the last 19th century building remaining at the site where the 1892 Battle of Homestead took place.
As a former Pittsburgh resident, he said he liked seeing what the city has done to keep the heritage here alive.
"I think the rail-trail movement here is really cool, where you can still see all those rusty old rail beds along the river," Marston said. "I like to come back and see what is left of the industry and hopefully be a catalyst for preservation for some of this stuff."
He said members have documented industrial buildings in McKeesport, Duquesne and Johnstown.
The GalvTech facility was a key military ammunition plant in the early 1940s because of its location along the Monongahela River and quick access to nearby rail transportation.
The GalvTech tour was just one of many planned during the convention. GalvTech, which starting leasing the building in 1996, specializes in the galvanizing of flat-rolled sheets of steel used for nonautomotive applications in the commercial construction and consumer goods market.
By Ken Fibbe
TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Friday, May 29, 2009
