Carrie Furnace is a former

blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheric ...

located along the

Monongahela River The Monongahela River ( , )—often referred to locally as the Mon ()—is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed August 15, 2011 river on the Allegheny Plateau in North Cen ...

in the

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

area industrial town of

Swissvale, Pennsylvania Swissvale is a borough in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, east of downtown Pittsburgh. Named for a farmstead owned by James Swisshelm, during the industrial age it was the site of the Union Switch & Signal, Union ...

, and it had formed a part of the

Homestead Steel Works Homestead Steel Works was a large steel works located on the Monongahela River at Homestead, Pennsylvania in the United States. The company developed in the nineteenth century as an extensive plant served by tributary coal and iron fields, a rai ...

. The Carrie Furnaces were built in 1884 and they operated until 1982. During its peak, the site produced 1,000 to 1,250 tons of iron per day. All that is left of the site are furnaces #6 and #7, which operated from 1907 to 1978, and its

hot metal bridge The Hot Metal Bridge is a truss bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that crosses the Monongahela River. The bridge consists of two parallel spans on a single set of piers: the former Monongahela Connecting Railroad Bridge, built in 1887, on the u ...

(not to be confused with the

Hot Metal Bridge The Hot Metal Bridge is a truss bridge in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that crosses the Monongahela River. The bridge consists of two parallel spans on a single set of piers: the former Monongahela Connecting Railroad Bridge, built in 1887, on the u ...

farther downstream). The furnaces, designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 2006, are among the only pre-World War II 20th century blast furnaces to survive. The site is currently managed by the nonprofit Rivers of Steel Heritage Corporation, which conducts tours and other programs from May through October.

History, topography, and environmental concerns

The timeline below portrays the history of Carrie Furnace. Carrie Furnace is located along the

, with 135 acres located on the north bank of the river and 33 acres on the south bank. The site, however, is not readily accessible as it is enclosed by railroad tracks. The surrounding areas include Braddock, Rankin, Swissvale, Whitaker, and Munhall. After the Park Corporation purchased the site from

U.S. Steel United States Steel Corporation, more commonly known as U.S. Steel, is an American integrated steel producer headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with production operations primarily in the United States of America and in severa ...

in 1988, both parties agreed to address the environmental concerns. In 2005, Allegheny County purchased the land from Park Corps. for $5.75 million. Underground fuel storage tanks were removed in 1994 along with two above ground fuel storage units. In addition,

asbestos Asbestos () is a naturally occurring fibrous silicate mineral. There are six types, all of which are composed of long and thin fibrous crystals, each fibre being composed of many microscopic "fibrils" that can be released into the atmosphere b ...

from the buildings was removed. The soil was contaminated with

PCBs Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds, formerly used in industrial and consumer products, whose production was banned in the United States by the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1979 and internationally by t ...

and

sulfate The sulfate or sulphate ion is a polyatomic anion with the empirical formula . Salts, acid derivatives, and peroxides of sulfate are widely used in industry. Sulfates occur widely in everyday life. Sulfates are salts of sulfuric acid and many ar ...

s. Environmental assessment of the site has been conducted in two phases. The first phase was completed in 2007 and the second is currently underway. * 1881 Carrie Furnace is built * 1892

Homestead Strike The Homestead strike, also known as the Homestead steel strike, Homestead massacre, or Battle of Homestead, was an industrial lockout and strike that began on July 1, 1892, culminating in a battle in which strikers defeated private security agent ...

* 1898 Site purchased by

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie (, ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century and became one of the richest Americans i ...

* 1901 Incorporated into

* 1978 Shutdown * 1988 Sold to Park Corporation * 2005 Sold to Allegheny County for $5.75 million * 2006 Furnaces 6 and 7 were designated a

Image:Carrie Furnace030.jpg,

and

Pinkerton's Landing Bridge The Pinkerton's Landing Bridge (officially known as the Pittsburgh & Lake Erie Railroad Bridge at Munhall) is a truss bridge that carries CSX Transportation's Pittsburgh Subdivision across the Monongahela River between Munhall, Pennsylvania and ...

in foreground Image:CRW_4839.jpg, A View on the Hot Blast Stoves Image:Carrie1Furnace.jpg, Blast Furnace #7, surrounded by ancillary structures left in a state of arrested decay

Future development

Partners in the redevelopment of Carrie Furnace include Allegheny County, several nearby municipalities, and the Steel Industry Heritage Corporation. These organizations seek to preserve the remaining industrial structures while utilizing the site for economic development. The redevelopment plan is mixed-use as it contains plans for commercial and residential development, as well as light industrial manufacturing. Housing, office buildings, a hotel, a conference center, transportation center, and a museum are included in the plan. For example, the hot metal rail bridge that connected Carrie Furnace to Homestead Works is to be converted into an automobile bridge, which will allow access to the site. The bridge also connects the site to

The Waterfront The Waterfront is a super-regional open air shopping mall spanning the three boroughs of Homestead, West Homestead, and Munhall near Pittsburgh. The shopping mall sits on land once occupied by U.S. Steel's Homestead Steel Works plant, which c ...

– a retail development across the Monongahela River. Additionally, the Rivers of Steel Heritage Corp. is working with Allegheny County on establishing a museum about the history of steel centered on the two blast furnaces still standing on the site.

References

External links

*
Travel Channel video 1Travel Channel video 2

Library of Congress Archival Photos of Carrie Furnaces

Flickr Carrie Furnace Group

Post Gazette article

Post Gazette Tour
{{Pittsburgh Ironworks and steel mills in Pennsylvania Industrial buildings and structures in Pennsylvania Industrial buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania Buildings and structures in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Tourist attractions in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Industrial buildings completed in 1884 Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation Historic Landmarks National Historic Landmarks in Pennsylvania Blast furnaces in the United States Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area U.S. Steel Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Pennsylvania National Register of Historic Places in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh Labor History 1884 establishments in Pennsylvania

History, topography, and environmental concerns

Future development

See also

References

External links