confirmed that the original level of the land was seven or eight feet lower than it is now, or about four feet lower than the current Tannery doorway opening.” The Tannery was restored between 1968–1971 by John Milner Associates as an historic site interpreting the 18th century tanning operations. After restoration was complete the building was open to the public for tours and educational programming from the late 1970s. Continued restoration from grants received allowed the opening of the vat room in 2001 which had previously not been accessible due to deterioration of the viewing platforms. It closed in 2004 due to damages from hurricane Ivan. The Tannery is owned by the city of Bethlehem with a long-term lease to Historic Bethlehem Museums & Sites, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization. The building is not presently open to the public. The tanning process In the 18th century turning animal hides into tanned leather was a lengthy, seven-step process that could take up to two years or longer. The work required a great deal of strength as the wet hides could weigh several hundred pounds. "In 1790, for example, David Gold gave up his job after several years because of what he described as a 'weakness in his arms'. Most of the tanners in Bethlehem came directly from Germany." “First the hides had to be washed, cleaned, and trimmed. Next they were soaked in a lime solution for several weeks; this facilitated ‘beaming,’ the subsequent scraping of the hide to remove the hair and any remaining flesh. The hides were then soaked for many weeks in a ‘bating’ solution, a foul-smelling mixture of water, salt, and manure that neutralized any remaining lime and also altered the chemical structure of the skin to make it more flexible. Next came the actual tanning step of immersing the hides in a vat filled with tanbark and its rich ‘liquor’ extra for six to twelve months. Afterwards the leather was beaten or fulled to make it more pliable and then carefully dried. Soft, waterproof leathers with a smooth finish required further treatment by a currier.” Tanbark was an essential ingredient in the tanning process. Each hide required one to two times its weight in bark for proper tanning, with the tannery consuming 60 to 100 cords (218 to 363 cubic meters) of tanbark annually. Oak and hemlock barks were gathered in the spring and dried, then stored