PRINTER'S NO. 755
No. 73 Session of 2007
INTRODUCED BY ORIE, FONTANA, RAFFERTY, STOUT, BOSCOLA, KASUNIC,
ERICKSON, GREENLEAF, WONDERLING, PIPPY, EARLL, D. WHITE,
LAVALLE, ARMSTRONG, COSTA, LOGAN, FERLO, M. WHITE, ROBBINS
AND REGOLA, MARCH 27, 2007
INTRODUCED AND ADOPTED, MARCH 27, 2007
A RESOLUTION
1 Congratulating the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area and
2 the Steel Industry Heritage Corporation.
3 WHEREAS, From 1875 to 1980 southwestern Pennsylvania was the
4 steelmaking capital of the world, producing the steel for some
5 of America's iconic landmarks such as the Brooklyn Bridge and
6 the Empire State Building; and
7 WHEREAS, During World War I and II western Pennsylvania's
8 steelworkers carried a nation's defense on their backs,
9 producing more steel, armor and armaments in a single year than
10 entire nations; and
11 WHEREAS, While many of the region's legendary mill sites have
12 been dismantled and it has been decades since the mills belched
13 fire and smoke over Pittsburgh's skyline, the enormity of the
14 region's steelmaking contributions and its historical
15 significance to the nation demand that its story be told and its
16 sites be preserved; and
17 WHEREAS, The Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area was
1 created by the Congress of the United States in 1996 and is
2 committed to preserving, interpreting and managing the historic,
3 cultural and natural resources of Big Steel and its related
4 industries; and
5 WHEREAS, The Rivers of Steel area encompasses 3,000 square
6 miles in Allegheny, Armstrong, Beaver, Westmoreland, Greene,
7 Fayette and Washington Counties and builds on this area's
8 remarkable transition from heavy industry to high technology and
9 diversified services while bolstering the new regional economy
10 by promoting tourism and economic development based on this
11 region's historic industrial saga; and
12 WHEREAS, The Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area's mission
13 includes historic preservation, cultural conservation,
14 education, recreation and resource development; and
15 WHEREAS, The 110th Congress has introduced legislation to
16 create the Steel Industry National Historic Site in Allegheny
17 County, Pennsylvania; and
18 WHEREAS, The proposed historic site would be located on 38
19 acres surrounding the United States Steel Homestead Works, the
20 Carrie Furnaces complex which is the last of the giant blast
21 furnaces from the Homestead Works, the Pump House, site of the
22 bloody 1892 Homestead Steel Strike and the Hot Metal Bridge; and
23 WHEREAS, Establishing the historic site would ensure the
24 preservation, interpretation, visitor enjoyment and maintenance
25 of these nationally significant landmarks; therefore be it
26 RESOLVED, That the Senate congratulate the Rivers of Steel
27 Heritage Area as well as the Steel Industry Heritage
28 Corporation, board members and staff for ten years of
29 outstanding contributions to southwestern Pennsylvania to bring
30 to life this region's role as the steelmaking capital of the
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1 world; and be it further
2 RESOLVED, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to
3 the Steel Industry Heritage Corporation, The Bost Building, 623
4 East 8th Avenue, Homestead PA 15120.
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