Bethlehem Steel, an industrial giant for more than a century, entered a drastic decline that ended in the closure of the Bethlehem facility after 138 years of continuous operation. Workers cast Blast Furnace C for the last time on November 18, 1995, and the cooling of the blast furnaces began a phased shutdown that ended all operations by 1998. The company’s failure resulted from multiple factors: changing markets as aluminum and plastic began to replace steel, increasing competition from foreign mills and mini-mills within the US starting in the 1960s, disasters in the late 1970s that forced shutdowns and costly cleanup efforts at facilities in Lackawanna, New York, Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and near Pittsburgh, and a recession in the early 1980s accompanied by shrinking profits. Many believed management responded inadequately to these challenges, while some thought union demands on wages and pensions worsened the situation. The plant’s closing left thousands without work and changed the region forever.