The National Museum of Industrial History has broken ground on an outdoor park that will nearly double the museum’s available space to educate the public about the country’s industrial past. The park, part of a $275,000 project, will reimagine 17,000 square-feet of the museum’s property into a new area where visitors can see working machines and follow in the footsteps of generations of workers and inventors. Utilizing actual industrial machinery from Bethlehem Steel Corp. and beyond, the park will show the process of transforming raw materials into finished products and highlight innovations in industry.

“We’re very excited about this project. Being able to break ground on a significant new part of the museum, despite all of the hardships this year has brought, is a silver lining during a tough time,” said Kara Mohsinger, president and CEO of the museum. “We just celebrated the fourth anniversary of the museum and this is a perfect way to kick off our fifth year. This new park will allow us to bring even more history to life, host additional workshops and programs, and offer more artifact demonstrations than ever before.”

Construction on the park is expected to last approximately two months. Several large-scale artifacts will be installed in the park, including a number of original Bethlehem Steel machines.

The park will serve as the new home for the Steelworkers Veterans Memorial, currently located in the parking lot at Third and Polk streets. Built by steelworkers and dedicated in 1989, the memorial honors employees of Bethlehem Steel who served in the armed forces.

“This project is truly something for the whole community to enjoy,” said Megan Pildis, vice president of business development at NMIH.

Funding for the project came from the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development Greenway Trails and Recreation Grant Program, Northampton County’s CIPP and Hotel Tax programs, the City of Bethlehem’s Redevelopment Authority. Work for the park is being undertaken by Alvin H. Butz, Inc., Panzitta Enterprises, Inc., Simone Collins Landscape Architecture, Bean, Inc. Contractors, Edge of the Woods Native Plant Nursery, Albarell Electric, and Eschbach Brothers.

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