Heritage is transforming the Mon Valley! The Carrie Blast Furnace was built in 1881 and was once part of the legendary U.S. Steel Homestead Steel Works. In 2006, Blast Furnaces #6 & #7 were declared a National Historic Landmark. Today, visitors to the site can connect with the region’s industrial and cultural past through a myriad of public tours and programs offered by Rivers of Steel.
In the most recent [late August 2021] evolution of the Carrie Blast Furnace site, the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County (RAAC) and the Regional Industrial Development Corporation (RIDC) announced a partnership to develop the former brownfield adjacent to the Carrie Furnace site, which spans the boroughs of Munhall, Rankin, Swissvale and Whitaker and and straddles the Monongahela River.
The Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area has successfully developed and promoted the site to benefit locals and tourists as a thriving arts and events venue.
Below, Rivers of Steel’s President and CEO August Carlino reflects on the heritage area’s role in the process—historically, presently, and in the future. (Read the original post at the Rivers of Steel website.)
Saving the Carrie Blast Furnaces and Envisioning Tomorrow
In 1989 a group of concerned partners from Pittsburgh and Homestead rallied together to call attention to the need to save the Carrie Blast Furnaces as an iconic symbol of our region’s legacy as the Steelmaking Capital of the World. Those partners—residents, business leaders, community groups, and historical organizations—encountered much resistance, with many dismissing the idea as without merit, an obstacle to economic development, an impediment to job-creating, and a barrier to the redevelopment of the old mill site. Undeterred, that same group of partners created an organization that would eventually lead the preservation efforts at Carrie and work with communities throughout southwestern Pennsylvania to help conserve their industrial and cultural heritage. Today, 31 years later, Rivers of Steel celebrates the recent announcement by the Regional Industrial Development Corporation and Allegheny County to redevelop the Carrie Furnace site, with the historic blast furnaces as a central element to its revitalization.
An Iconic Symbol of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s Industrial Legacy
With this [August 26, 2021] announcement by Allegheny County and the RIDC, the primary goal of Rivers of Steel has come to fruition. The redevelopment of our industrial sites can be accomplished without the erasure of the history that is the identity of our communities and the legacy of our region. RIDC and Rivers of Steel have a long track record of working in partnership to advance the development of industrial sites in southwestern Pennsylvania. Rivers of Steel’s work with RIDC dates back to the early 1990s when we assisted RIDC with documenting and preserving industrial artifacts and documents at the former U.S. Steel sites in Duquesne and McKeesport. Our work together helped RIDC meet federal historic mitigation requirements resulting in the release of public funds used for redevelopment. Because RIDC appreciates the region’s industrial heritage, the former steel mill sites at Duquesne and McKeesport function as modern industrial campuses that showcase industrial technology of the 21st century on sites that were considered “high tech” locales constructed and operated in the late 1800s and early 1900s.
The opportunity at Carrie Furnaces, with the Blast Furnaces as a central component of the site’s redevelopment, will be unique in the world.
As successful as these sites have been, the opportunity at Carrie Furnaces, with the Blast Furnaces as a central component of the site’s redevelopment, will be unique in the world. Allegheny County’s leadership resulted in the formation of a Carrie Furnaces Redevelopment Steering Committee that includes Rivers of Steel, representatives of the Boroughs of Rankin, Swissvale, and Braddock, the Woodland Hills School District, and the Redevelopment Authority of Allegheny County. This working partnership has endured trials but persevered: not only accomplishing the early work to prepare the site for this development opportunity but also ensuring that the National Historic Landmark—Carrie Blast Furnaces Numbers 6 & 7—remain a focal point for the site, the surrounding communities, Pittsburgh, and southwestern Pennsylvania.
Stewardship of the Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark
As stewards of the National Historic Landmark, Rivers of Steel has worked since 2005 to make the Carrie Blast Furnaces Numbers 6 & 7 accessible to the community and visitors to the region. As a result, today visitors can participate in interpretive tours, educational programs, art exhibits and workshops, and special festivals and events on a site that was historically walled off from any type of community access. Rivers of Steel’s stewardship has also included investing in stabilizing and preserving the historic structure and raising significant private and government funding to ensure its survival as a monument to the region’s nationally significant industrial heritage.
At the beginning of 2021, Rivers of Steel began working on a comprehensive strategic plan for the historic site. This plan focuses on interpretation and exhibition, arts and culture, education, and recreation. It will inform a conceptual site plan to ensure that the proper infrastructure and resources are in place to meet these programmatic goals. In addition, the conceptual site plan will lead to a business plan and fundraising strategy to make these goals and visions a reality. This process includes integrating the historic site within the larger development, working closely with the county, RIDC, and the municipalities.
Rivers of Steel envisions that the Carrie Blast Furnaces will be the centerpiece and headquarters of not only the Mon Valley and the Pittsburgh region but of the entire national heritage area it manages, acting as a hub that drives visitors and tourists to Rivers of Steel’s other sites and its many heritage partners in the southwestern Pennsylvania region.
Rivers of Steel looks forward to working closely with Allegheny County and the RIDC to ensure that the Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark can complement the development and connect to the community green space and trails that are planned. In the end, the result will be the marrying of the engineering brilliance and industrial technology of Pittsburgh in the 19th century with the engineering brilliance and industrial technology of the 21st century, making Carrie Furnaces a site like none other in the world.
About Rivers of Steel
Founded on the principles of heritage development, community partnership, and a reverence for the region’s natural and shared resources, Rivers of Steel strengthens the economic and cultural fabric of western Pennsylvania by fostering dynamic initiatives and transformative experiences.
Rivers of Steel showcases the artistry and innovation of our region’s industrial and cultural heritage through its historical & 21st-century attractions―offering unique experiences via tours, workshops, exhibitions, festivals, and more. Behind the scenes, Rivers of Steel supports economic revitalization—working at the grassroots level to deepen community partnerships, promote heritage tourism, and preserve local recreational and cultural resources for future generations.
READ MORE: RIVERS OF STEEL RECEIVES A SAVE AMERICA’S TREASURES GRANT