Hard Hat Tours show Carrie Furnace site in different light
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Tim Kaulen's sculpture "Rankin Deer Head" at Carrie Furnace. -
Tim Kaulen
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After the 30-acre Carrie Furnace complex of U.S. Steel's Homestead Works ceased producing iron in 1978, most viewed the site as "big, noisy, dirty places not functioning," said Rick Darke, a tour guide during the Carrie Furnace Hard Hat Tours beginning April 30.
"But notions of beauty shift," said Mr. Darke of Chester County, who works as a landscape ethicist.
"Now we see the furnaces as soaring monuments to a time and an industry in America that we are still living with," he said of the bridges and other structures that stand as testaments to the work in the Pittsburgh mills.
"Even those working there back then said how beautiful it was despite the difficult conditions," Mr. Darke said.
"The furnaces cast dramatic shadows and vistas, with cathedral-like spaces as the system of engineering, productivity and the nature of the work required they be gigantic.
"They are magnificent just in their scale, and we won't be making those again. They are part of a cultural legacy," he said.
The tour, which begins at the Historic Pump House, 880 E. Waterfront Drive at the Waterfront complex, will be held at 9, 10 and 11 a.m. April 30, May 21, June 18, Aug. 20, Sept. 17 and Oct. 15.
Mr. Darke will serve as a tour guide at noon June 18.
He will also speak at the Pump House about "Carrie Furnace in Global Context: New Parks and Gardens Forged from Industrial Landscapes" at 7 p.m. June 17.
Regional public artist Tim Kaulen, who was instrumental in creating the Rankin Deer Head sculpture on the property, will offer an artist's perspective at noon April 30 at the site.
Proceeds benefit the nonprofit Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area, which is committed to preserving and managing historic resources connected to steel and its related industry.
The Carrie Furnace, now managed by the Rivers of Steel, was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006.
Future plans include the complex's development into a heritage park with an interpretive center or museum for relaying the site history. The county plans to develop the surrounding property into residential and commercial space.
First Published April 14, 2011 12:00 am
