​10 East Church Street
Bethlehem, PA 18018
Steel Stacks Art and Cultural Campus
Steel Stacks is an arts and culture campus created on a portion of the site where the former Bethlehem Steel Corporation manufactured steel for 120-years.
When steel production ceased at the Bethlehem Steel plant in 1995 a large void was left in the Bethlehem community. Determined to honor the history of Bethlehem Steel while finding a way to reuse the land where this corporation was located, a Tax Incremental Financing District (TIF) was created with a small portion of the vast land previously owned by Bethlehem Steel. Thanks to the participation of the Bethlehem Area School District, City of Bethlehem and County of Northampton in this TIF, the Bethlehem Redevelopment Authority annually collects revenue from the property taxes of the land parcels within this district and directs these funds to help with the redevelopment of this site. Combined with private development, the TIF was an instrumental tool for creating much of the infrastructure and public areas of the Steel Stacks Campus.
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Through this hard work and determination by all involved, the hustle and bustle of activity has once again returned to this site as the Steel Stacks Campus. In the shadows of five Bethlehem Steel Blast Furnaces, there is an active campus where community members can gather for all sorts of art and cultural events. Be it family movie night, a live band performance, a touring the site, or just relaxing with friends, Steel Stacks has become a true destination. By combining history with modern activities the largest brownfield in the United States has been transformed into an active, vibrant campus for all to enjoy.
To learn more about Bethlehem Steel and the Steel Stacks Campus, click here:
2003
Steel Stacks Award Received
2017
Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence - 2017 Gold Medalist
The Rudy Bruner Award for Urban Excellence is a national design award which promotes innovative thinking about the built environment. It celebrates and shares stories of creative and inspiring urban development and recongizes transformative urban places which are distinguished by their economic and social contributions to American cities. This prestigious award was founded in 1986 by Simeon Bruner as part of the Bruner Foundation. The Bruner Foundation was founded in 1963 by Rudy and Martha Bruner. and this award is named after Rudy Bruner who had a lifelong interest in architecture and cities. (from Rudy Bruner Award website - http://www.rudybruneraward.org/)
2017
American Society of Landscape Architects - General Design Honor Award
The American Society of Landscape Architects award recognizes the best of landscape architecture in general design, analysis and planning, communications, research and residential design categories from the United States and around the world. The Steel Stacks Art and Cultural Campus was recognized with an honor award in the general design category. (from ASLA website - https://www.asla.org/NewsReleaseDetails.aspx?id=51457)
2017
American Society of Landscape Architects PA-DE - Award of Excellence
The American Society of Landscape Architects PA-DE award recognizes excellence in landscape architecture and demonstrates the scope of value of landscape architectural services within the Pennsylvania Delaware Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). While there are various competitive categories, the Steel Stacks Art and Cultural Campus competed in the General Design category which focused on the quality of design, design context, environmental sensitivity and sustainability, as well as the design value to clients and other designers. (from ASLA PA-DE websites - https://www.padeasla.org/awards/professional-awards-program/ and https://www.padeasla.org/awards/award-categories/)
2016
Architects Newspaper Best of Design Award in Architectural Lighting
Architects Newspaper Best of Design Award in Architectural Lighting recognizes projects in North America for a wide variety of projects ranging from commercial and residential buildings to public and urban design projects to interior and small space to exhibition design and temporary installations. Projects are evaluated based upon their presentantion strength, innovation, creativity in using new technology, sustainability, as well as its overall design. Projects receiving a Best of Design Awards are highlighted in the Architects Newspaper 'Best of Design' year-end issue annually. (from Architectural Newspaper websites: https://archpaper.com/2019/09/this-is-the-final-week-to-enter-the-2019-an-best-of-design-awards/ and https://archpaper.com/?s=best+of+design)
2014
Urban Land Institute Philadelphia Willard G. Rouse III Award for Excellence
The Urban Land Institute Philadelphia Willard G. Rouse III Aware for Excellence recognizes outstanding and transformational land use development, best practices and creative visioning. This award is presented to celebrate the legacy of the Urban Land Institute (ULI) Philadelphia founder Bill Rouse and recognizes projects within the Philadelphia region. Projects from the private sector to the public and nonprofit sectors are all eligible as well as a vast variety of project types from housing to commercial to mixed-use projects, from open space to land use policy initiative projects. The ULI Philadelphia states "winning projects represent the highest standards of achievement in the development industry and advance ULI mission of providing leadership in the responsible use of land and in creating and sustaining thriving communities worldwide." (from ULI website: https://philadelphia.uli.org/events/awards/)
2014
Urban Land Institute Global Award of Excellence
The Urban Land Institute Global Award of Excellence began in 1979 and is a global, international competition.that recognizes "... best practices and outstanding development projects in the built environment." It recognizes development efforts in the private, public and nonprofit sectors as well as the full development process of a project, not just its architecture or design. For this award, projects are evaluated on the extent to which they: " ... achieve marketplace acceptance / financial success; achieve a high standard of excellence in all areas - architecture, design, planning, construction, amenities, economics, and management, etc; demonstrate relevance to the contemporary and future needs of the community in which they are located; have a positive impact in their communities and/or immediate context; exhibit environmental sustainability,, stewardship and resiliency; and provide models, lessons, strategies or techniques that other communities can replicate or adapt, (from ULI websites: https://americas.uli.org/programs/awards-competitions/uli-global-award-for-excellence/ and https://americas.uli.org/programs/awards-competitions/uli-global-award-for-excellence/winning-strategies/ and https://americas.uli.org/programs/awards-competitions/ )