Saturday, June 17, 2023
Guests of the Green Building Alliance take a tour of the Carrie Furnaces that examines how the site is sustainably repurposed, May 2023.
First Come the Artists . . .

There's a notion that as neighborhoods are redeveloped (or gentrified) the artists are always the first ones to see the potential. They take up residence and begin creating, inventing new spaces that speak to them. The post-industrial era at Carrie began with artists, too. As historic preservationists, Rivers of Steel may have have been working on saving the structures shortly after the mill's closure, but by nature of access, the artists were already on the ground.

As a site that has been continually evolving since it went offline more than forty years ago, the ways this sacred land is used reflects the varied interests of the communities who are invested in it. Telling the industrial story at Carrie is our default narrative, but understanding the story of the arts and grounds is an essential counterpoint. It takes the landmarked site out of the past and into the future. It provides the means for interpreting the humanity of the place, beyond its industrial scale and its massive, historical output.

Recently, Rivers of Steel collaborated with the Green Building Alliance for a special tour that blended both narratives to showcase how the site is used sustainably. Today's featured article by Jordan Snowden shares key elements of the post-industrial part of this tale.

Creative placemaking is sometimes a term used to define this type of intentional work when / where the arts are used to create vibrancy in a location, and it is also a tenet of how Rivers of Steel works with communities in our National Heritage Area. This story about a new parklet in the City of Monongahela reflects our efforts there over the last nine months.

While "creative placemaking" can sound academic, in reality, it's just a lot of fun! As you peruse our other offerings this week, from the Iron Casting Spectator Event and metal arts workshops to a Photo Safari and Homestead Live Fridays, allow yourself to make the connection between the singular events and the overall impact of activation through the arts.

Thanks for that consideration. These efforts are not easy, but they are meaningful when they are understood and appreciated!
FEATURED STORY
A Sustainable Look at the Arts and Grounds at Carrie
By Jordan Snowden
Recently, Rivers of Steel collaborated with the Green Building Alliance to weave two divergent narratives at Carrie—the industrial and the post-industrial stories—into a unified thread that reflects the sustainable approach our organization brings to the development of the historic site.
COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT
A New Parklet in Monongahela
Change works best when it comes from within. Through a collaboration with the Monongahela Area Chamber of Commerce and the Mon Valley Alliance, Rivers of Steel has been working to bring to life a new community space—with participation from local students, community members, and seniors. Read about it—and then join us for the debut of the new pocket park!
METAL ARTS WORKSHOP
Scratch Block Aluminum Casting
Sunday, June 18, 3:00 – 5:00 p.m., W.A. Young & Sons Foundry and Machine Shop
This workshop is a great way to explore the metal casting process and try something new! No prior experience or artistic background necessary—just bring your creativity! Rivers of Steel’s experienced metal-casting team will help you create your own design, then step back and watch as the metal team pours molten aluminum into your mold. Take your casting home at the end of the workshop.
SPECIAL EVENT
Iron Casting Spectator Event
Saturday, June 24, 1:00 – 4:00 p.m., Carrie Blast Furnaces
Experience molten iron at the Carrie Blast Furnaces! Bring some friends to the Carrie Blast Furnaces and watch our metal arts crew, along with a team of volunteers and workshop participants, fire up the cupola furnace and melt some iron. Witness a scaled down version of what took place onsite during its peak industrial era.
Workshop participants work on their sand molds.
METAL ARTS WORKSHOP
Intro to Iron Casting
June 22 – 24, 2023, 11:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m., Carrie Blast Furnaces
Work with experienced Rivers of Steel teaching artists and visiting artists to learn the basics of foundry work, including pattern and mold-making. It’s a step-by-step overview of the iron-casting process.
PHOTOGRAPHY SESSION
Photo Safari
June 25, 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Carrie Blast Furnaces
The interplay of light and seasonality at the Carrie Furnaces offers endless perspectives of this industrial muse. Take inspiration from the wide vistas or the delicate details at this National Historic Landmark site. Choose your own adventure on this photo safari!
FEATURED TOUR
Arts & Grounds Tour
Sunday, June 25, 12:00 – 2:00 p.m., Carrie Blast Furnaces
Enjoy a special artist-led tour of the Mini Greens 2 installation in the Iron Garden when you take an Arts & Grounds Tour this summer. Hear from the artist and then experience the landmark through the lens of arts! This tour takes visitors behind the scenes to share the context of artworks onsite and to discover the stories that seeded their evolution!
METAL ARTS WORKSHOP
Blacksmithing Basics: Hooks & Hairpins
Thursday, June 29, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m., Carrie Blast Furnaces
Learn to hammer hot metal at the Carrie Blast Furnaces. This three-hour introductory workshop is a great way to explore the art of blacksmithing and create something unique. Participants will learn the basics of forging steel and use essential blacksmithing tools to create a steel hook or hairpin to take home.
Shameless Hex perform on the outdoor stage at Golden Age during the first Live Fridays event in Homestead, May 2023.
COMMUNITY EVENT
Homestead Live Fridays
Friday, June 30, 6:00 – 10:00 p.m., Homestead Business District
Located in multiple venues throughout Homestead’s Eighth Avenue business district—and at street-side pop-ups along the way, Homestead Live Fridays features local performers, art exhibitions, and activities each evening from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m. Grab a drink or bite to eat and check out some of the region’s best local live music!
The Steelworker mural helps tell the story of Black workers at Carrie.
SPECIALTY TOUR
The Black Experience at the Carrie Furnaces
Sundays in June at the Carrie Blast Furnaces
Join Rivers of Steel this June for a special tour of the Carrie Blast Furnaces. This one-hour tour sifts through the history of the Carrie Furnaces through the lens of a pivotal resource—the Black migrants who traveled from the South and created a career path for themselves and future generations, amassing seniority and skills in some of the most difficult roles at the mill. Through the stories of changemakers like Cumberland "Cap" Posey and everyday workers like union officer John Hughey, this tour paints a picture of life inside—and outside—the mill in the 20th century.
THINGS TO DO IN THE RIVERS OF STEEL NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA
Block Party: Community and Celebration in American Art
The Westmoreland Museum of American Art, June 25 – September 17
The Westmoreland's new exhibition uses the World War I innovation of the urban block party as a lens to view artists’ ideas on celebration and community. Flowing through multiple galleries in the Museum like a parade, Block Party includes works from twenty-eight artists and one collective of makers that span generations and disciplines.

Artworks range from room-sized painting installations and large-scale videos to extraordinary examples of historical American art, and the exhibition comprises collection works alongside loans from artists’ studios and distinguished museums and foundations from Arkansas and Illinois to New York, Massachusetts, and South Carolina.
Help preserve our region’s industrial and cultural heritage! Your tax-deductible contribution will help ensure that Rivers of Steel can continue to offer vital, engaging, community-based arts, education, and heritage programs for the residents of southwestern Pennsylvania and beyond.
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