Drinking coffee in post-industrial Bethlehem: Happiness among the ruins

Have you ever driven past an uninhabited, now defunct industrial site and wondered what happened there, what was made there, and who lived and worked there? These sites exist all over the United States, and because of an EPA program started in 1995, many of these sites have become cultural meccas that revitalize old industrial towns, like Bethlehem, PA. Bethlehem, PA, is famous for Bethlehem Steel, which was a major industrial giant in the 20 th century. Originally incorporated in 1904, Bethlehem steel manufactured the steel that was used to make the Empire State Building in 1931; the Golden Gate Bridge in 1937; and Madison Square Garden in 1968. But even the greatest of empires decline, which is what happened to Bethlehem Steel, starting with huge losses in the 1970’s and eventually progressing to bankruptcy in 1997. The story of post-industrial economic despair is well-known and recounted in many stories and songs about the LeHigh Valley. However, the story tha