Walking tour takes look at Cement City homes
Walking tour takes look at Cement City homes
Scott Beveridge/Observer-Reporter
Scott Beveridge/Observer-Reporter
A row of Cement City houses facing Modisette Avenue in Donora
Photo courtesy of Donora Historical Society
Cement City as it appeared when construction was completed in 1917.
Photo courtesy of Donora Historical Society
Lambie Concrete House Corp. begins construction in 1916 on Cement City in Donora.
As Donora’s National Historic District marks the 100th anniversary of construction of its concrete houses, the Donora Historical Society will hold its seventh annual Cement City Home and Walking Tour at 1 p.m. Oct. 15.
In the early part of the 20th century, the steel mills in Donora were being built at a rapid pace. With the anticipated expansion at the mills, including a zinc works, new rod mill and the construction of a series of coke ovens, the number of employees was expected to climb from 6,000 to 7,000, resulting in a population increase from 20,000 to 25,000. With such rapid growth due to demand for steel for World War I, a major problem was adequate housing.
To combat the housing shortage, American Steel and Wire Co. announced plans to build 120 houses on several tracts of land in the southern edge of the borough, where the acidic pollution from its zinc mill wouldn’t kill vegetation.
The company wanted housing that could be constructed quickly and inexpensively, and since its interests were in both the steel reinforcement and concrete industries, the innovative method of building houses out of concrete seemed to be a plausible alternative to traditional wood framing.
The houses were built for the mill’s foremen, and each one of them came with a white or red rosebush in the yard as well as a lilac bush. Houses were constructed in the Prairie School-style favored by architect Frank Lloyd Wright in a construction method that was popularized by light bulb inventor Thomas Edison.
However, construction was halted at 80 houses because the construction method proved to be more expensive than anticipated, and there was a shortage of skilled labor to build the houses, according the historical society.
In 1996, Cement City was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The tour will start at the Smog Museum, Sixth Street and McKean Avenue, Donora, with an in-depth photo, blueprint and artifact presentation. The photos were taken during construction in 1916 and 1917 by Donora photographer Bruce Dreisbach. Tourgoers will get a firsthand look at how they built continuously poured concrete houses 100 years ago.
The presenter will be Smog Museum curator and Cement City resident Brian Charlton, who authored an article, “Cement City: Thomas Edison’s Experiment with Worker’s Housing in Donora,” in the fall 2013 edition of the Western Pennsylvania History magazine published by the Heinz History Center. Copies of the magazine will be available for purchase at the museum.
Following the presentation, the tour will begin at Donora’s first planned housing community, where various original architectural details will be explained, and will include the interior of two homes where rooms have been restored to the early 20th century.
Cost is $12 a person, and space is limited. To RSVP, email DonoraHistoricalSociety@gmail.com or call 724-823-0364 and leave a message.
To learn more about Cement City or Dreisbach, or to watch a digital storytelling video by honors English students at California University of Pennsylvania, visit www.donorahistoricalsociety.org and click on the “Cement City” and “Dreisbach Photos.”