The structure of the main open hearth furnace building at Minnesota Steel Co. in Duluth appears mostly complete. Large flues for construction of the blast furnace lie on the ground in the foreground. The auxiliary buildings are under construction.
Zenith Furnace Company opened in 1902. This complex eventually included a blast furnace, a coal dock, and sixty-five coke ovens located on eighty acres of land along St. Louis Bay. The company produced pig iron, was active in the wholesale coal trade, and sold by-products such as ammonia gas, coal gas, and coal tar. Later purchased by Interlake Iron Corporation, the facility served as the northernmost merchant of pig iron plant in the United States until it closed permanently in 1962.
Contributing Institution:
University of Minnesota Duluth, Kathryn A. Martin Library, Northeast Minnesota Historical Collections