Industry remembered through the people who built it. A nonprofit archive preserving documents, photographs, oral histories, and physical artifacts related to Great Lakes manufacturing history.
A gelatin silver print documenting the open-hearth furnace operations at Great Lakes Steel Corporation, Zug Island, Michigan. Circa 1952. Donated by the descendants of a shift supervisor.
The archive is open to researchers, students, journalists, and the public. Collections can be browsed on-site or requested through our digital catalog.
The archive is located in the historic Pullman-Standard building on the industrial east side.
The Great Lakes built America’s industrial backbone. These records are how we remember the hands that built it.
The Great Lakes Industrial Archive was founded in 1987 to preserve the material record of manufacturing in the Great Lakes region. Our collection spans more than a century of industrial activity, from early foundries to modern automated production.
Visit the archive or search our digital catalog. Research appointments available for deep collection access.
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