From What It Once Was ...
The facility at Camden Yards Steel Company is steeped in a rich history that dates back to the late 19th century. This historic piece of land along the Delaware River waterfront was once home to the former New York Ship Building Company, which began construction on this site in 1899. Henry G. Morse spearheaded the idea and decided, after spending 25 years building iron bridges and tunnels for a variety of companies, and two years as president of the Harlan & Hollingsworth shipyard in Wilmington, Delaware, that it was time to start his own company.
The 160-acre farm on the east side of the Delaware River, north of the mouth of Newton Creek, had an attractive price tag, less than that of its intended location, Staten Island. The site boasted several added advantages as well. Located directly across the Delaware River from Philadelphia, Camden offered better land, better rail facilities and greater access to experienced shipyard workers as well as sources for shipbuilding materials. Ground conditions were also favorable, and especially suited to the building of shipway foundations. Despite the change in site location, the company was incorporated as the New York Shipbuilding Company and opened its doors at the turn of the century, in 1900.
Launching their first ship (the MS Dollar) in 1901, New York Shipbuilding constructed hundreds of ships at the Camden site, making it a recognized leader in naval construction by 1914. The famous aircraft carrier USS Saratoga was built there in 1927 and the first nuclear powered cargo ship, the Savannah, in 1938. New York Shipbuilding played a major role in World War II, employing over 30,000 workers at its peak and constructing the largest number of naval combatant ships ever to be built on one shipyard in a year’s time. The last major ship built on the site was the USS Kitty Hawk, launched in 1961, six years before New York Shipbuilding closed its doors in 1967. Kitty Hawk is the only carrier from New York Shipbuilding still in active service.
... To What It Is Today
Since 1971, the site has been owned by the South Jersey Port Corporation, a state agency which oversees the entire Camden port, and operated as the Broadway Street Terminal.
By 2001, the Port of Camden handled more than 2.3 million tons of cargo for the year, making it the second highest tonnage year in Port history. That same year, a new regime at the Camden port started to take shape as owners Alan Kanoff and Michael Amato were approached by South Jersey Port Corporation’s deputy executive director, Kevin Castagnola. Hoping the two would reconsider their original site offer from up the river in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, Castagnola gave Kanoff and Amato an offer they couldn’t refuse and together they founded the Camden Yards Steel Company. The New York Shipbuilding site was the perfect location.
On January 3, 2002, Camden Yards Steel opened to the public.
