Carrie Furnace Tour — Attraction in Swissvale

I saw the Carrie Blast Furnace in the news recently and was reminded of my guided tour several years ago. It pains me to review, and I remember it like yesterday.

Our volunteer guide (whose name I will withhold) was extremely knowledgeable about the furnace and the area’s history, but his attitude leaves much to be desired. As he took us through the grounds, he repeatedly explained that the owners made a deal with the local ‘artists’ to graffiti specific parts of the concrete walls, etc. so as not to disturb the steel equipment. ‘They police themselves,’ he said, explaining that people would break in and tag the grounds with their symbols, so the furnace owners designated specific parts for artists to decorate as they pleased. Understandably, he sounded disgusted.

It was painful to hear his frustration over the whole situation given that much of his life was caught up in the mill and now is degraded. (Who paints on a historic landmark? What’s more is I personally don’t understand the connection—a chunk of the graffiti is related to pan-Africanism. What does a political movement of this kind have to do with the Carrie furnace?) Near the end of the tour, the volunteer was addled to explain black people’s role in the furnace (was he told to say this?) when really he should have said how virulent an anti-Catholic Andrew Carnegie really was. (And being the case, there ought to be a few tributes to the Blessed Mother among the art if there must be art.) The tour ended with the furnace itself and an explanation of how much it produced in its heyday.

I also didn’t the enjoy the trip due to his barking at me and another tourist, too. We made innocent mistakes in where we were to stand at given times and he just blew up at us. Unprofessional.

The furnace itself is a memory machine for those who’ve been and a history lesson for us youngins. You wouldn’t know that given the condition of the grounds, but there it is. While I don’t know the financial status of the place, I hope it remains open if only to remind us how great Pittsburgh truly is.

P.S.: I don’t know the severity of the situation with the graffiti artists only that it is a shame locals, regardless of their backgrounds, cannot appreciate a place of historical significance for the building and spreading of their...

The bin that the guy told me to take a helmet from said it was the dirty bin. When I asked again he said no, trust me- they are clean. As I was walking away I heard the guy next to me say that he had just put his dirty helmet in the same bin that the guy told me to take one from. The tour was way too long for such a small property. There should be a self guided tour option for people that don't want to stand around bored for a long time. I have done self guided tours at places that were 20 times bigger than this and in a lot worse condition- and the hourly rate was cheaper than here. The tour guide said in the beginning that is was an interactive tour and that we were allowed to look around and touch things as long as we didn't go past the yellow tape, but then I was asked to 'stay with the group'... even though I was less than 10 feet away from everyone else. The tour guide had us stand around and listen to him talk at the boring/non-photogenic spot, and then rushed us through the neat parts where everyone wanted to stop to take pictures. Several other people in our group fell behind trying to snap a couple of pictures and the tour guide didn't wait- he just kept going. Not worth the time or money,...

This tour lets you really appreciate the industrial revolution and the critical roll that steel played in our world. More importantly, it let's you appreciate the relentless efforts of cost reduction that made steel an affordable product that changed everything from car, to buildings, and machinery everywhere. But what you also learn about is how much the region and the workers sacrificed to make all that steel for the world. Worker conditions were awfully dangerous. Wokeplace safety was non-existent. Regardless of your opinions on unionization, you'll appreciate what how the unions helped drive some level of improvements. This is not a museum, it is a walk thru the real iron works that were build at the turn of the century. The guides know the industry and share stories including the impacts on the environment, World War 1 and 2, the role of women, minorities, barriers to advancement, and the role of black leaders to advancing unionization to protect worker health. This tour is about two hours. Note that there are several tour themes, so be sure to review the website to see what fits...