Exploring the historic Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, Ala.

While on a work trip in Alabama, Josh Welton visited the Sloss Furances, a national historic landmark and museum showcasing the rich industrial and ironworking past of Birmingham, Ala.

In my work travels, I try to make the most of my time in a new place.

In Arizona, around Fort Huachuca and Tucson, I’ve enjoyed off-roading along the border, blacksmithing at the O.K. Corral in Tombstone, riding a mine cart down the old Copper mines in Bisbee, visiting the Pima Air and Space Museum and the Titan Missile site.

In New Mexico, my rental Jeep and I did a ton of off-roading, stayed overnight in a Cold War-era missile silo, and smashed some metal at a friend’s blacksmith shop.

Near Dugway in Utah, there’s Bonneville, the dirt road where the Pony Express ran, the old Wendover Airfield, and mountains and public lands where I once again did a bunch of four-wheeling in the rental Jeep (when I found a Wrangler with mud tires in the rental car lot, it was on like Donkey Kong).

Back east in Aberdeen, Md., there’s easy access to D.C. and all the Smithsonian museums; there’s Philly with the Rodin Museum; and in Virginia there’s the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, which houses a record-setting SR71, the Enola Gay, the Discovery space shuttle, and a killer mezzanine where you could walk out and watch craftsmen and engineers piece together incoming aerospace artifacts. 

Earlier this year, I was sent to Anniston, Ala., and while indeed there were things to see and places to go, like Talladega, I was stuck on third shift and pretty much didn’t see the light of day for a month. The single thing I explored, though, was epic. My wife, Darla, found it while researching the vicinity: The Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham.

Sloss Furnaces operated from 1882-1970, making it the longest continually running blast furnace in Birmingham’s history and one of the world's largest pig iron manufacturers. Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark began as a museum in 1983, providing visitors with valuable insight into Birmingham’s rich industrial history.

Too often, with historical or “site” museums, we see the grounds restored or rebuilt, and so much of the authenticity and the soul is lost forever. But not at The Sloss, where they’ve provided a unique experience.

The original machinery sits as it has since installation. Different metal joining techniques, industrial engineering, and building styles hearken to turn-of-the-century technologies.

The maze of pipes, towering stoves, and massive steam-blowing engines that once powered America’s Industrial Revolution now stand silent, serving as a chapel of sorts for reflection on their significance. While not all the metal is raw, the surfaces are coated in a rust-colored primer to limit oxidation on structural parts.

Josh Welton at Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, Ala.

You feel like you’re part of an art installation as gears, furnaces, blowers, and other mechanisms of the trade beautifully decompose. The afternoon rain heightened my sense of reverence for this birthplace of iron. 

Due to the rain, I had the place to myself. If you can, experience it for yourself. In the meantime, I put together my favorite pictures from my visit. Check out the gallery by clicking on the first photo.

Sloss Furnaces also houses a vibrant metal arts program and hosts youth apprenticeship programs, workshops, exhibits, and conferences.

Check out the Sloss Furnaces and Sloss Metal Arts Instagram accounts.

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