History_The Site

in order to understand the site, we looked at the s history of the site as well as the way in which raw materials moved onto, through, and off the site.

1.0 site history

the history of the site begins in the 1890s with the construction of the carrie furnace. the development of the site can be traced from their with sanborn fire insurance maps, technical drawings of the site, and aerial photos. the series of images below show the known footprint of each building on the site placed on a conjectural aerial photo the attempts to represent the condition of the day.


1896 - the first two blast furnaces have been built


1901 - two more blast furnaces are constructed. the hot metal bridge is build to connect the carrie furnace with the homestead works.


1908 - blast furnaces 6 & 7 are built


1945 - the site is nearly fully developed. the river along the southeast corner of the site has been infilled


1956 - an actual aerial photo of the site with important buildings highlighted. the site was at its peak production during this period. the rankin bridge has also been constructed.


2007 - the site as it exists today. only blast furnaces 6 and 7 remain. the competition site has been highlighted.

2.0 site process

raw materials, namely iron ore and coal, where brought to the site. the ore was converted into steel and was then moved to the homestead works across the river was it was manufactured into a finished product.


step 1 - raw materials arrive on site


step 2 - materials are moved throughout the site on rail lines


step 3 - iron ore is stored in ore yards


step 4 - iron ore is taken to blast furnaces where it is converted to steel


step 5 - new steel is carried across the hot metal bridge to the homestead works. it is still glowing hot.


step 6 - the steel arrives as the homestead works where it final products are manufactured.