The Carrie Furnaces were built in 1884 and operated until 1982 as pat of the Homestead Steel Works. Located in the town of Rankin, Pennsylvania, these derelict blast furnace are one of those run down areas that any visitor to the Pittsburgh area with an interest in history should visit. During the peak production period, the Carrie site produced 1000 to 1250 tons of iron per day. All that remains today are furnaces #6 and #7, which operated from 1907 – 1978 and the hot metal bridge used to transport the molten iron across the Monongahela River.
Blast furnace, Carrie Furnaces, Rankin, Pennsylvania
In recent years the Carrie Furnaces have served as a grand canvas for graffiti, starred in numerous videos, hosted musical performances and of course have become an exciting subject for photographers. The property is presently under the control of the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area who are campaigning to create the Homestead Works National Park.
This type of subject is well suited to black and white photography although the colours of the dilapidated buildings and the contents are beautifully mellowed and look great as well. Here are some Carrie Furnace B&W images, I’ll post some colour images a little later.