Sloss Furnaces

Sloss Furnaces is a former pig iron-producing blast furnace complex in Birmingham, Alabama, established in the late 19th century and now preserved as an industrial heritage site.

The site preserves large-scale industrial equipment including the furnace stacks, cast houses and associated plant infrastructure. Visitors can follow interpretive exhibits and routes that explain iron-making technology and the site’s role in the region’s industrial development.

The complex operated as a major iron producer from the 1880s until the early 1970s and afterward was retained for preservation and public interpretation of industrial history.

The furnaces sit within the city of Birmingham, north of the downtown core, where the preserved structures form a prominent industrial landmark and public museum complex.

• Dates: Operations began in the early 1880s and the site produced pig iron until the early 1970s, after which the complex was preserved as an industrial heritage site.
• Visit note: The site is an open-air industrial complex with heavy steelwork and catwalks; wear sturdy footwear and follow posted safety routes when touring the furnaces.

What to See #

• Blast furnaces: A preserved set of industrial furnaces and associated metal-working equipment that produced pig iron; the stacks and metalwork remain as large outdoor structures visitors can view up close.
• Visitor exhibits: Former production buildings converted to interpretive spaces where exhibits explain the site's operating history, iron-making processes and the local industrial heritage.