The National Historic Landmarks Program protects our American cultural heritage by bringing attention to worthy landmarks and guiding the process to nominate them. In Birmingham, there are currently only 3 listed landmarks: 16th Street Baptist Church, Sloss Furnaces, and Bethel Baptist Church as well as the Birmingham Civil Rights National Monument (which includes multiple sites).
There are over 2,600 National Landmarks in the U.S. today including buildings, sites, structures, objects, and districts. To be considered, the landmark must be nationally important and contributing to an understanding of our nation’s heritage. Sloss Furnaces is a monument to our nation’s industrial heritage and was considered to have “perhaps the greatest potential of any area in the country for developing a comprehensive museum to the industry.”
Sloss Furnaces was saved from demolition by the efforts of the Birmingham Regional Planning Commission, who brought the landmark to the attention of the National Park Service. Thanks to Bham Now for highlighting this important process!
While they are not on the National Parks Historic Landmarks list, there are many other historic properties worth noting in Birmingham listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Bhamwiki lists them HERE.
And although the National Register of Historic Landmarks and the National Register of Historic Places are both administered by the National Park Service, the landmarks represent places of exceptional national significance.
Certainly, Sloss Furnaces is worthy of this special recognition!
