Today was the MOST gorgeous day all FALL! Weather like this (breezy + cool) calls for being outside, not locked up at work behind a computer. So we ventured outside for a site visit.
Welcome to Sloss Furnaces. Back in the day, these furnaces produced iron, giving rise to the city we know today at Birmingham. Sloss is a true marker of an industrial past dating back to the late 19th century. Sloss is recognized today as a National Historic Landmark. The chaos and cahoots of the piping and 40 or so structures is anchored by two 400-ton blast furnaces.
“Sloss is currently the only twentieth-century blast furnace in the U.S. being preserved and interpreted as an historic industrial site. The dramatic scale and complexity of the plant’s industrial structure, machines and tools make the Sloss collection a unique contribution to the interpretation of twentieth-century ironmaking technology and presents a remarkable perspective on the era when America grew to world industrial dominance. At the same time, Sloss is an important reminder of the hopes and struggles of the people who worked in the industries that made some men wealthy, and Birmingham the ‘Magic City’.”
The unique truss system is so light and delicate, kind of contradictory of how you might usually think of METAL. I am totally blown away by the space! Currently this structure serves as an entertainment venue!
Today the “cooling pond ” serves merely as a unique water feature
and a reminder that GOD with never flood the world again…look at that beautiful rainbow!
The web of pipes is crazy. Who ever put all of this together? It blows my mind!
Not to mention at some point somebody climbed to the top of this thing. That ladder is not there for nothing. All I can say is VERTIGO…
Really, not one detail is overlooked reflective “lights” in the window reflect the machinery across the way,
and interior spaces are crafted in beautiful ways…the drama of natural light
even the light fixtures are unique…
Here is where the fun begins. The Mayor of Mt. Brook just recently had this 4018 steam engine moved. That short statement makes it sound like it was an easy process, but believe me that is way misleading. It was going to be sent to the scrap yard, but lots of money later it was successfully saved. The Engine No. 4018 is Light “Mikado” steam locomotive. It is only one of five surviving locomotives of its time.
Engine 4018…
now rests on these tracks at the future (newly proposed) entrance to the Sloss site
flaunting in all its glory, 1 1/4″ of asbestos insulation waiting to be restored and protected from the elements
That is where our job comes in, we are to design a locomotive shed for this BEAST! Should be interesting to say the least.
