History

The history of Four Blocks International neighborhood is directly related to Bethlehem Steel. Most of the structures in Four Blocks International neighborhood were built after 1900 and had storefronts on the first floor and rooms for rent on the second floor. The neighborhood was multi-cultural and vibrant. As families emigrated to work at Bethlehem Steel, many of them lived and shopped in this neighborhood.

Bethlehem Steel was the second largest steel company in the United States. Charles Schwab, an executive at US Steel, purchased Bethlehem Steel in 1901. With the introduction of a new beam in 1907, it was possible to build tall skyscrapers and longer bridges, Then, in 1914, the outbreak of World War I was a bonanza for Bethlehem Steel. Orders for military products came from France, Great Britain and Russia, and the workforce swelled to over 35,000. After the war, Bethlehem Steel continued to prosper, as this was the age of the skyscraper. During the 1920's and 1930's, Bethlehem Steel also played a key role in the construction of the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels in New York City and the George Washington and the Golden Gate bridges. The outbreak of World War II brought renewed prosperity, and the company was a major arms supplier to the Allied Forces. After the United States entered the war, Bethlehem Steel became the most important defense contractor, building the majority of ships and aircraft used in the war effort.

Despite the Bethlehem Steel prosperity, Four Blocks International was always a working class neighborhood. It is often said that working for Bethlehem Steel was a way of life. The ethnic groups living here included Russians, Slovaks, Windish, Pennsylvania Germans, Italians, Polish, Greek, Irish, Portuguese, Mexican, and Puerto Ricans. Each prominent religious group built its own church, and family social life centered on church activities. Church picnics and festivals encouraged the wearing of native costumes, as well as celebrating with traditional foods, drink and dance. Many of the immigrants continued to grow food in their backyard gardens. Throughout most of the 1900's, families shopped at the Bethlehem Market, on Third Street, for farm produce and meat. Children lived and played in the shadows of the Bethlehem Steel's massive buildings, and they watched trains move through the neighborhood with all types of industrial products. Children watched their fathers walk to and from work. Soot and red smoke filled the air, and a typical chore was to wash the soot off the window ledges. Many children took advantage of entrepreneurial opportunities, such as paper routes, delivering sandwiches and lunch for steelworkers, shoe shining and collecting bottles. People who grew up in south Bethlehem recall having lived in a tight-knit community where everyone was accepted.

As Bethlehem Steel came to an end, the neighborhood lost its identity. A revitalization plan completed in 2002 for south Bethlehem's residential neighborhoods, Southside Vision 2012, prioritizes this area. It identifies the 500 - 800 blocks of East Fourth Street as a viable commercial corridor - a prime location for commercial establishments to meet the residents' needs. The plan tasks the Community Action Development Corporation of Bethlehem to undertake programs to encourage neighborhood commercial development. The CADCB has a Start Your Own Business class twice a year, provides technical assistance to business owners, and funding available through Rising Tide Community Loan fund. Southside Vision 2012 also has a volunteer committee of business owners, concerned citizens, residents, and staff of CADCB and City of Bethlehem to guide the revitalization of this area.

In 2005, this committee completed a series of visioning sessions in the neighborhood. Facilitated by staff of the Bethlehem Business Council, the community chose the
Four Blocks International identity as the one most fitting. Important themes included:
industrial heritage; a tradition of churches; a walk-able community; a multicultural home for immigrants; a multitude of spoken languages; and warm people with entrepreneurial spirits. The Four Blocks International identity was selected to celebrate the rich cultures of the neighborhood, both past and present.