Destruction Of Former Steel Mill's Wall Catches Preservationists By Surprise

HAZELWOOD (KDKA) -- It's a mighty stone wall that has stood for a century or more.

It originally stood between the public and the sprawling J&L Steel Works built in the 1880s.

But suddenly a crew of workers has begun taking it down, much to the surprise and distress of steel heritage preservationists like Steffi Domike.

"We're shocked to see that this wall demolished without any sense of what they might do with the stones or any memory of what those stones represent," she said.

The skeleton of Mill 19 has been preserved and will be the cornerstone of a new 178-acre development called "Hazelwood Green," the potential transformation of the site into a high-tech mecca of computer software companies and green energy producers.

Domike, a former steelworker herself, says the wall should remain as a testament to the past and these stones should continue to stand at the entrance of the site.

"And they represent part of our heritage, part of our history and I think any new development needs to take that into account and it needs to be woven into the fabric of our future," she said.

Domike and others say the dismantling of the wall has caught them unawares.

Hazelwood Green's project developer did respond, saying that the wall is coming down but the stones will be repurposed and used as part of a planned public plaza on the site.

Rebecca Flora said there were long-term doubts about the structural integrity of the wall and that prior to today no one had raised concerns about its preservation.