ON THE MOVE

INFORMATION ON THE LINE

Look for the “Dial to Discover” signs scattered around Sloss Furnace and pick up the phone to get an earful of pre-recorded information that will enhance your experience.

F EEL THE H E AT

SLOSS FURNACES IS A MUSEUM UNLIKE ANY OTHER IN THE STATE. IT’S A HOT BED OF IMPORTANT HISTORY WITH MASSIVE MONUMENTS TO THE INDUSTRY THAT HELPED BUILD BIRMINGHAM.

BY JENNIFER KORNEGAY • PHOTOGRAPHY BY BIG DREAMZ

Sitting right in the middle of Birmingham, Sloss Furnaces is the only early 20th century foundry being preserved in the United States. Its labyrinth of pipes and tubes and its smokestacks reaching high into the air are a tangible tribute to Birmingham’s—and our country’s—industrial roots. It all began in 1880, when Colonel James Withers Sloss founded the company whose furnaces blasted super-hot air—up to 3,600 degrees—to transform the area’s readily available iron ore, coke and limestone into iron.

By World War I, the company Sloss had reorganized into, Sloss-Sheffield, was one of the largest producers of pig iron in the world. Demand for iron rose higher in the 1940s to supply the war effort, and Sloss, along with other Birmingham iron and steel makers, answered producing more and creating more jobs for Birmingham workers.

By 1970, Sloss Furnaces had ceased operations, and the site is now a City of Birmingham museum and a National Historic Landmark, first welcoming visitors in 1983. While none of the original complex still exists, the site now consists of two 400-ton furnaces and 40 other buildings, the oldest of which dates back to 1902 and houses the eight steam-driven

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Ty offered a pro tip to get the most from a Sloss visit.

“Plan on staying longer than you think you might. It is not just an old, abandoned factory to walk through,” he said. “Once inside, most people get fascinated with not just the history but the beauty and majesty of the site. It’s really jaw-dropping what you are standing among and looking at.” “Even our civil rights history is connected to our industrial history, which is connected to economic history. I think it proves you can’t put history in little boxes.”

“blowing-engines” used to provide air for combustion in the furnaces. These engines are significant pieces of the site’s collection as they are representative of the power that drove America’s role in the greater industrial revolution.

Ty Malugani, Education Coordinator/ Historian at Sloss, explained what makes the Sloss site so unique. “It’s the only one like it in the country,” he said. “The museum itself is in the furnaces; you can stand next to an 80-foot-tall furnace and imagine what the work was like. You just don’t see anything of this scale anymore, so standing where it actually happened really helps people understand the gravity of this industry and the impact of its history.”

Visitors can walk among, under and through steam-powered boilers, blower engines, a water tower, the dark tunnel where workers fed the furnaces, and more. The structures, tools and machines at Sloss offer a glimpse into yesterday’s iron-making techniques and provide an up-close-and-personal experience with this key component of Alabama’s past.

Malugani went on to stress why this history matters. “The history of Sloss and of the entire industry it represents is the history of the city,” he said. “Iron was why Birmingham was created and created where it was. It was the backbone of its early economy.”

He points again to the powerful message echoing from the massive machinery that surrounds you while at Sloss. “It shows the strength of the men who labored here, who did this really hard work to make a better life for their families and open opportunities for their kids,” he said.

Sloss is still an important part of the community, hosting events as well as metal arts exhibitions and workshops that allow artists and students to use smaller furnaces and their imaginations to create an array of metal items.

Today, Sloss hosts 100,000 to 120,000 visitors each year, not including special events held at the site. Malugani hopes each guest enjoys their stay and leaves with a deeper understanding of Birmingham’s backstory and its multi-layered connections. “This place is the foundation that everything else was built on top of; everything in the city stems from iron and steel but particularly iron,” he said. “Even our civil rights history is connected to our industrial history, which is connected to economic history. I think it proves you can’t put history in little boxes.”