Email
Print
FeedDiamond in the Rough?
Crippled by decades of crime, corruption, poverty and neglect, Coatesville is struggling to redefine its precarious future. And yet, there is life among the ruins—signs that all is not lost.
Photos by Shane McCauley Published May 26, 2009 at 01:55 PM
(page 1 of 4)
Urban snapshots typically are rife with juxtaposition. A well-to-do neighborhood converges on a street corner claimed by drug dealers. A lushly landscaped square rubs elbows with a decrepit row home. A slick new eatery appears across the street from a vacant warehouse.
But in the once-thriving steel town of Coatesville, it isn’t so much about the stark contrast that accompanies evolution as it is about the relics of an illustrious past. Everything looks pretty much the same here—worn-out, dated and devoid of hope.
Government ineptitude and a well-publicized string of arsons have done a number on public perception of a place most people in this region have ignored. But the reality is that Coatesville has been a city under siege for a long time.
Downtown Coatesville is hard on the eyes—especially for anyone who happens upon Main Street (Route 30 or Lincoln Highway) via a wrong turn off Route 82 while coming from Marlborough Township, an area with the largest contiguous woodlands and rolling hills in Chester County. Suddenly, a vast steel mill appears, along with miles of railroad track and heaps of scrap metal piled sky-high. A half-mile farther, the neglected city enfolds in all its hollowed-out glory—a half-dead main drag, with groups of young black men congregating on its corners; vacant land waiting, like the city’s residents, for something to take root.
Downtown Phoenixville or West Chester, it’s not. There are a few bars, though they’re not the sort of places you’d go for a glass of wine before dinner. Decent places to eat are few and far between. There’s no ice cream shop, grocery store or movie theater.
High on a hill, a gorgeous cemetery overlooks the valley where Coatesville sits. A small historical section off Route 82 pays homage to the heyday of Lukens Steel with several large mansions maintained by the charitable trust of one of its most prized executives, Stewart Huston. In the 1960s, Lukens was the county’s largest employer, with over 10,000 workers. But after a series of acquisitions and mergers over the years, its workforce was reduced to less than 700. The city never recovered.
Greetings from Nowhere
Modern-day Coatesville has undoubtedly drawn the short straw. It’s the poorest city in Pennsylvania tucked inside the state’s wealthiest county. Its 11,000 working-class whites, blacks, Asians and other nationalities have a median household income of $28,000. A pervasive hopelessness and lack of opportunity have sucked the life out of many of its residents. For most, there are few ways up—or out.
The workforce at Lukens Steel’s most recent incarnation, ArcelorMittal, was winnowed down to 652 steelworkers after layoffs in February. Currently, the mill is only operating at 75 percent.
Reader Comments:
It's sad reading this article on Coatesville, but hearing someone speak on the truth about our city makes me see things for what it really is. We are still going to be crippled for decades to come by neglect, poverty, crime and corruption. I will say we are cursed!