The local chapter of the IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) regularly tours interesting sites within the Pittsburgh area. This time we visited the Carrie Blast Furnace which converted coke, iron ore, and limestone into pure iron that went across the river to be converted into steel. As always, a great time was had by all and we learned a lot about our Pittsburgh heritage. Despite the fact that these furnaces are closed, Pittsburgh still produces an impressive amount of steel – technology has leveraged the ability of updated plants, such as the Edgar Thompson Steel Works (built by Andrew Carnegie himself) to be many times more productive than the older plants that are now in disuse.
The Pumphouse, which, along with the Furnace is curated by Rivers of Steel, is also important because it was the site of the Homestead riots of 1892, which is a story unto itself. You can view some of my images in this gallery:
