Compiled From Online Sources
Good news for weekend wanderers: Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark is now open from Noon to 4 p.m. on Sundays.
For the first time, you can fold Sloss into a slower, more relaxed Birmingham weekend, no weekday planning required. It’s a small change, but it makes a big difference. Sloss Furnaces is a National Historic Landmark owned by the City of Birmingham and supported by the Sloss Furnaces Foundation.
Admission to Sloss Furnaces is free. You can take a self-guided tour through the 15-acre site and learn about the process and the people that made this incredible place operate 24/7. Guided tours are also available for a small fee, with immersive special tours scheduled throughout the year.
Built in the 1880s, Sloss helped shape Birmingham into the “Magic City.”
Sloss was established by Colonel James Withers Sloss, along with new railway lines, due to vast deposits of coal, limestone and iron ore that launched an industry.
Thousands of workers from the rural South and around the world came seeking jobs. At one time, Sloss Furnaces was the largest pig iron producer in the world. Sloss provided jobs for thousands of former slaves and European immigrants, but had a history of racial injustice, union busting and dangerous working conditions.
Sloss has a unique role in the history of civil rights in Birmingham and in the ways we now connect our diverse communities through art, education, and cultural events.
Today, its towering structures remain as a raw, immersive reminder of that history. In the modern era, it has become part museum, part cultural space.
Now, your Sunday can look a little different: take your time, walk the grounds, and experience a piece of Birmingham at your own pace.
For more information, visit www.slossfurnaces.org
