Founded by Charles Otis in 1873, the company was the first in the United States to produce steel in an open-hearth furnace. By the end of the nineteenth century it owned and operated a mammoth complex of mills, warehouses and office buildings that stretched along the Lake Erie waterfront from East 25th to East 40th streets. For years, it was one of the major employers of Polish immigrants in the Josephatowa neighborhood. Otis Steel was later purchased by Jones & Laughlin, who closed the company's lakefront operation shortly after the end of World War II. Today, much of the land upon which Otis Steel was once located is occupied by the Innerbelt and the Memorial Shoreway, including the infamous Deadman's Curve. This photograph of the complex was taken in circa 1910. | Source: Cleveland Public Library, Digital GalleryDownload Original File
