Carrie Blast Furnaces gets $360K federal grant to preserve former steel mill site in Rankin

Joe Napsha, Tribune-Review, Greensburg, Pa.
·2 min read

Oct. 1—Work to stabilize and restore key components of the Carrie Blast Furnaces in Rankin, where iron was once produced for U.S. Steel Corp.'s Homestead steel mill, may begin this fall on project estimated to cost $720,000, thanks to a federal grant of nearly $360,000 to the Homestead-based organization that administers the site.

"It is vitally important for us to preserve these sections. We want to stabilize the site for future generations, so they can learn about the history of the region," said Ronald Baraff, director of historic resources and facilities for Rivers of Steel, which oversees the mill site owned by Allegheny County. The goal is to start this fall and continue through the winter, depending on the weather, and into next spring, Baraff said.

With the mill built in 1906, some of the supporting steel beams are starting to fail or have been compromised by being in the weather for decades and out of production, Baraff said.

Engineers do assessments of the mill, which has been designated a National Historic Landmark, and determine priorities for what needs to be repaired, said August Carlino, president of Rivers of Steel.

In order to do the work, the Rivers of Steel was able to secure the National Park Service's Historic Preservation Fund allocation to stabilize three critical sections of the blast furnaces: the No. 6 Cast House, where iron was tapped; the stove and purification decks, which generated heat for the site and processed furnace gases; and the water flume, a slag byproduct transportation trough.

The Department of Interior requires the"highly competitive" Save America's Treasures grant to be matched dollar-for-dollar, Baraff said. The Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission has awarded Rivers of Steel a $100,000 grant and Pittsburgh area foundations and donors have shown an interest in supporting the project, Baraff said.

A spokesperson for the Park Service also could not be reached for comment.

The funding will help to ensure that the Carrie Blast Furnaces will remain open to the public for tours and that important parts of the site are not damaged beyond the point of repair, the Rivers of Steel said. The No. 6 Cast House and the stove decks are on the public tours, but the water flume area is restricted for safety reasons, the organization said.

Last month, the Allegheny County Redevelopment Authority and the Regional Industrial Development Corp., reached an agreement where the RIDC would work to redevelop 52 acres of the brownfield site on the Rankin side of the river and along the west banks of the Monongahela River in Munhall and Whitaker.

Joe Napsha is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe at 724-836-5252, jnapsha@triblive.com or via Twitter .