Pittsburgh Steel Company, Monessen Works, Open Hearth Plant, Donner Avenue, Monessen, Westmoreland County, PA

Significance: The open hearth steelmaking plant of the Monessen Works was built in 1908. Pittsburgh Steel installed eight 95 ton, basic open hearth furnaces in a 1,055 x 280 feet steel-frame, metal-clad building. In 1918 four furnaces were added; and all 12 were upgraded to 120 tons. 36 Hughes gas producers provided fuel gas for the open hearth process. In 1954 masons from the Monessen Works rebuilt the open hearth furnaces to an expanded capacity of 250 tons each. At this time the gas producers were dismantled, and fuel provided in the form of fuel oil and coke oven gas. The plant continued to operate until 1964, when the Company erected a basic oxygen process steelmaking facility.
Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N262
Survey number: HAER PA-253-C
Building/structure dates: 1909 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: 1985 Subsequent Work