The Carrie Furnace, built in 1907, is a derelict old blast furnace that produced iron for Homestead for 72 years, practically continuously until 1978. It was part of the Homestead Steel Works and was located along the Monongahela River in the Pittsburgh region industrial town of Rankin, Pennsylvania, with 135 acres on the north side of the river and 33 acres on the south bank.
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These enormous furnaces are made of 2.5′′ thick steel plate and coated with refractory brick. The facility produced 1,000 to 1,250 tons of iron per day during its height in the 1950s and 1960s. The blast furnace’s cooling system required about five million gallons of water each day. All that remains of the site are furnaces 6 and 7, which functioned from 1907 until 1978, as well as the hot metal bridge. They are exceedingly uncommon pre-World War II examples of iron-making technology.
The blast furnaces were modified throughout time, although they remained mostly unmodified until 1936. Because of this obsolete technology, furnaces 6 and 7 were the first to go down when the complex began to shut down.
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Allegheny County paid $5.75 million for them in 2005. Underground gasoline storage tanks, as well as two above-ground fuel storage facilities, were dismantled in 1994. Furthermore, asbestos from the structures was removed. PCBs and sulfates poisoned the soil. The site’s environmental study was carried out in two stages. The first phase was finished in 2007, while the second is now under construction. The site, however, is inaccessible due to the presence of train tracks.
Allegheny County, many adjacent communities, and the Steel Industry Heritage Council are all involved in the Carrie Furnace renovation. These groups aim to protect the old industrial infrastructure while also developing the land economically. In addition, the Rivers of Steel Heritage Corp. is collaborating with Allegheny County to build a steel museum based on the two blast furnaces that remain on the site.
The redevelopment proposal is mixed-use, as it includes plans for commercial, residential, and light industrial production. The proposal includes housing, office buildings, a hotel, a conference center, a transit center, and a museum. Carrie Furnace tours began in 2010 after years of effort to protect the facility.