Tag Archives: Sloss Coke Ovens

Birmingham Historical Society, Birmingham pioneers, Coal Mines

WOW! The Sky over Sloss Furnaces

Birmingham, also known as The Magic City, was nicknamed for its amazingly fast growth fueled by iron ore, limestone, and coal. Sloss Furnaces was America’s largest producer of iron in the 1920s.

Now a National Historic Landmark, it defines Birmingham’s skyline with its towering blast furnaces which quit operating in 1971. The open air museum features events, festivals, and metal workers. Read more about it in Birmingham by the Book (pgs. 34-35)

A group of people, including adults and children, walking along a gravel path near industrial structures, including a tall furnace and a water tower with the word 'SLOSS,' set against a clear sky and green trees.
A group of workers in protective gear engages in metal casting in an industrial setting, with a furnace emitting flames in the background.
Black and white photo of an industrial site featuring tall smokestacks, trains, and large storage containers of materials.
A scenic sunset over an industrial landscape featuring rusty structures and smokestacks, with a city skyline in the background.
photo by Steve Dunlap, 2025
Annual meeting, Birmingham Landmarks, Medical Care, Slossfield, Thomas Boulware, Trustees

ANNUAL MEETING – Monday, February 28th, 7:00PM, BBG Auditorium

Featuring Early Healthcare, Obstetrics, and Midwifery for the underprivileged and poorly served in Birmingham in the 1940s.

A Local Landmark
A Legendary Leader
Slossfield & Dr. Boulware, Jr.
A Pioneering Obstetric Leader

The Slossfield and the Slossfield Maternity Center, center and center left, view looking toward North Birmingham across the slag dump, bottom right, of the Sloss- Sheffield Steel & Iron Company’s North Birmingham Furnaces. Sloss’ beehive coke ovens appear center right. Photograph, c. 1939, Birmingham, Alabama Public Library Archives.
INSET PHOTOGRAPH TOP: Sloss Coke Ovens and Housing. Oil, c. 1939, Rosalie Pettus Price. Collection Birmingham Historical Society.
INSET PHOTOGRAPH BOTTOM: Sloss Furnaces and Slag Pile along Village Creek, Oil, Sterling Worthen, Collection Marjorie L. White.