Poignant farewell to former steel-making stronghold.
The most visible vestige of Sparrows Point’s steelmaking past tumbled to the ground yesterday afternoon as workers from CDI imploded the property’s L Blast Furnace.
Workers have been planning for months to bring down the furnace with explosives, part of the ongoing work to demolish structures in advance of redeveloping the property.
Built in 1978, the L Blast Furnace stands 32 stories tall, weighs 11 million pounds and was a key part of the steel-making process at Sparrows Point.
Steel was made at Sparrows Point in southeastern Baltimore County for more than 100 years, mostly under the ownership of Bethlehem Steel. After a series of ownership changes, the mill closed when its then-owner, RG Steel, filed for bankruptcy. About 2,000 people lost their jobs when the mill closed.
Read more here, or view the poignant video below:
