$29.00
Made to order:
Super Soft T's screen printed in small batches.
* Front Alchemy Symbols Only
* Front Alchemy Symbols with BSCO-Symbol on Sleeve
* Front Alchemy Symbols with Back Circular Alchemy Symbols
* Front Alchemy Symbols with Back Circular Alchemy Symbols & BSCO-Symbol on Sleeve
Built in 1961 on a mountaintop site overlooking the Lehigh Valley, Homer Research Laboratories (HRL) was once the largest steel research center and testing lab in the world. Named for former Bethlehem Steel Chairman Arthur B. Homer, it at one point consisted of 8 buildings on 1,000 acres and cost $50 million to build. HRL conducted classified research for Bethlehem Steel in thermodynamics, metallurgy and ceramics, with scientists improving the quality of and processes used in making and finishing steel. The labs were used to test and develop new products, research materials, and find solutions to reduce pollution. At its peak, Homer Labs housed some of the best scientific minds & engineers in the world. Even with its successes in improving steel quality and reducing costs, Bethlehem Steel could not compete with foreign competition & economic slow down. The majority of the lab buildings were sold to Lehigh University in 1986 and Bethlehem Steel closed its doors in 1998.
An unique facet of the HRL legacy is the use of dinnerware with an esoteric, alchemical symbol motif in their dining hall. Only the researchers inside knew the meaning and significance of these symbols, which spoke to the connection between their modern research activities and that of ancient metallurgists. The bold graphics used were in line with the midcentury aesthetic of their time, while the alchemical symbols themselves echo the beauty of the ancient language and art-science that is metallurgy. These one of a kind symbols make a truly unique and historically-significant design for our t-shirts.