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Sloss Furnaces, Birmingham, AL

Photo: DXR, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Cropped and resized.

SightseeingHistory BuffFree

Sloss Furnaces

20 32nd Street North · Birmingham, AL

Why you should go…

Sloss Furnaces made pig iron in Birmingham from 1882 to 1971 and is now a National Historic Landmark you can walk through. Self-guided tours follow informational signs past the furnaces, machines and tools, and docent-led tours can be booked ahead for a small fee. The site opened as a museum in 1983 and has had a visitor center since 2016. It also hosts metal arts classes, concerts and festivals, so the old plant is still a working part of the city.

  • #industrial history
  • #national historic landmark
  • #blast furnace
  • #self-guided tour

Good to know

General sightseeing guidance

Habits that pay off across this whole category, not rules for this one venue. Always check the official site for the specifics.

  • The forecast is part of the ticket

    Haze, low cloud, and rain flatten a view. Clear-day visits are worth rearranging your plans for.

  • Golden hour sells out first

    Sunset slots at observation decks and cruises are the first to go, so book those further ahead.

  • Dress a layer warmer

    It is always breezier up high and out on the water than it feels at street level.

  • Timed entry is common

    Plenty of landmarks release tickets in windows rather than at the door, so check before you walk over.

What's around here?

The closest stops to Sloss Furnaces, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

  • Museums
    History Buff

    Birmingham Civil Rights Institute

    Under $25

    Walk through self-guided galleries that trace the Birmingham Campaign and the wider American civil rights movement.

    1.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Sightseeing
    Iconic

    16th Street Baptist Church

    Under $25

    Tour the 1911 church where a 1963 Ku Klux Klan bombing killed four girls, a landmark of the civil rights era.

    1.4 mi awayMore like this

  • Museums
    Rainy-Day Pick

    Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum

    $25–$50

    See more than 1,000 motorcycles on display from over a century of production, plus a large collection of Lotus race cars.

    10 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums

  • Attractions
    Iconic

    Talladega Superspeedway

    Under $25

    See NASCAR's 2.66-mile tri-oval with 33-degree banked turns, on race weekends or at the motorsports hall of fame next door.

    42 mi awaySwitch it up: Attractions

  • Sport & Outdoor
    Outdoor Adventure

    Cheaha State Park

    Under $25

    Hike to granite overlooks and climb a stone tower on Cheaha Mountain, the highest point in Alabama.

    57 mi awaySwitch it up: Sport & Outdoor