26109 Babushkas and Hard Hats

Day 1:

This tour gets to the heart of the Steel Town story! Getting to know the people, places and historic events that put Pittsburgh on the map as the steel making capital of the world! The tour takes passengers to historic places that were key sites in the 1892 Battle of Homestead, in addition to the Carrie Blast Furnaces National Historic Landmark, once part of the legendary Homestead Steal Works. This itinerary will connect passengers with the melting pot of cultures that powered the industrial success of the region.

Babushkas and Hard Hats: Arrive at the Bost Building. Built in 1892 as a hotel for the rapidly growing worker’s ward of Homestead, the Bost Building was at the center of one of American labor history’s most dramatic episodes—the Homestead Lockout and Strike.  Now a National Historic Landmark, the Bost Building serves as the Visitors’ Center for the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area and offers exhibits on the region’s industrial and cultural heritage.

Next you will depart for the Carrie Blast Furnaces. Towering 92 feet over the Monongahela River, constructed of 2.5" thick steel plate and lined with refractory brick, Carrie Furnaces #6 and #7 are extremely rare examples of pre-World War II iron-making technology. Since the collapse of the region’s big steel industry in the 1970s and 1980s, these are the only non-operative blast furnaces in the region that remain.

Lunch will be a catered Immigrant Inspired lunch at the Pump House. The Pump House dates back to 1892 when it was built by the Carnegie Steel Company. That same year, it was the site of the Battle of Homestead, a defining moment in the nation’s labor history. Today, the building and its adjacent water tower help to interpret the tumultuous events of 1892, as well as to highlight the illustrious steel-making legacy of the region.

L=Lunch