The Sloss Museum in Birmingham (pron Burr-ming-HAM), Alabama provided a very good introduction to this historic US city that has only existed since 1871. The city grew because of the coming of railroads and the discovery of all the ingredients for casting iron in the vicinity.
At its height Birmingam was a major US iron & steel producer, built on the backs of the hard labour of black workers. The museum preserves some of the industrial relics of those days. Very interesting to browse around, and extremely photogenic. The following reblog contains a few photographs.
Of course, Birmingham is more famous for its role in the Civil Rights movement, but that’s another story.
Was this really our destination? Looking at the rusty towering ruins of the Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, Alabama I had that “Oh no…” sinking feeling. Daughter-in-law had suggested this as our first stop on the family spring break road trip. It didn’t look very enticing or interesting. Abandoned industrial architecture didn’t immediately appeal.
How wrong I was.
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