Birmingham: Sloss Furnaces

Sloss Furnaces was once the largest manufacturer of pig iron in the world and it represents Birmingham’s rich industrial heritage. The site remains just as it was in the late 19th century with its network of pipes and soaring stoves. Named for Colonel James Withers Sloss, a north Alabama merchant also involved in railroads, Sloss operated from 1882-1970, making it the longest continually running blast furnace in Birmingham’s history. Now a museum that consists of two 400-ton blast furnaces and 40 buildings, Sloss is the only 20th century blast furnace in the United States serving as an historic industrial site.

Photo Credit : Lewis Kennedy