The ''Vulcan'' statue is the largest
cast iron
Cast iron is a class of iron– carbon alloys with a carbon content more than 2%. Its usefulness derives from its relatively low melting temperature. The alloy constituents affect its color when fractured: white cast iron has carbide impuri ...
statue in the world, and is the city symbol of
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% f ...
, reflecting its roots in the
iron and steel industry. The tall statue depicts the
Roman god
Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representat ...
Vulcan, god of the fire and forge, with ironworking equipment. It was created as Birmingham's entry for the
Louisiana Purchase Exposition
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds tota ...
(1904 World's Fair) in
St. Louis, Missouri. While it is the world's largest made of iron, it is also among
the nation's tallest statues of any kind.
[
]
History
Construction
Commissioned by the Commercial Club of Birmingham, Italian-born sculptor
Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...
Giuseppe Moretti began designing the monumental figure in 1903, using a tall model to study the form. He next sculpted a clay master model in an unfinished church in Passaic, New Jersey
Passaic ( or ) is a city in Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the city had a total population of 70,537, ranking as the 16th largest municipality in New Jersey and an increase of 656 from the 69,7 ...
, and this was then divided into sections and transported by railroad
Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...
to the Birmingham Steel and Iron Company for the preparation of casting molds for the iron.[
The sculptor, Giuseppe Moretti, received an artist's fee of $6,000, which would be about $ in dollars. The Commercial Club of Birmingham held art shows, concerts, baseball games, and many more activities to raise the estimated $15,000 ($ in dollars) it would cost to build and transport the statue. It is also noted that pot metal statuettes of ''Vulcan'' were sold at both the St. Louis World's Fair and in ]Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham ( ) is a city in the north central region of the U.S. state of Alabama. Birmingham is the seat of Jefferson County, Alabama's most populous county. As of the 2021 census estimates, Birmingham had a population of 197,575, down 1% f ...
for two dollars apiece to help in the accumulated costs it took to create the statue.
The ''Vulcan'' statue consists of 29 cast-iron components with connecting flanges that are bolted together internally. The heaviest section is his whole head, which weighs . Iron forgemen designed and executed the connection details for the statue, which originally had no internal framework and was self-supporting. The grey iron
Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed ...
castings were made in Birmingham entirely from locally produced iron.
The completed weight of the god Vulcan's figure alone is . When Vulcan's anvil
An anvil is a metalworking tool consisting of a large block of metal (usually forged or cast steel), with a flattened top surface, upon which another object is struck (or "worked").
Anvils are as massive as practical, because the higher ...
, block, hammer, and spearpoint are added, the statue weighs a total of and it stands on a pedestal that is . The statue has a chest circumference of and a waist circumference of .
1904 World's Fair
The statue was shipped to St. Louis as Birmingham's entry into the 1904 World's Fair. Vulcan dramatically demonstrated the mineral riches and manufacturing capabilities of the Birmingham area while on display in the Louisiana Purchase Exposition
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds tota ...
's "Palace of Mines and Metallurgy". It was awarded a "Grand Prize".
When the 1904 World's Fair ended, the ''Vulcan'' statue was dismantled and returned to its home city of Birmingham, only to be left in pieces alongside the railroad tracks due to unpaid freight bills.
Alabama State Fairgrounds
The ''Vulcan'' statue was eventually re-erected at the Alabama State Fairgrounds The Alabama State Fairgrounds are located in West Birmingham, Alabama, Birmingham, adjacent to the Five Points West shopping area.
The State Fair Arena and Exposition Building covers a combined total of . The fairgrounds were acquired by the City ...
, but the statue's arms were installed incorrectly, and the god was without his spear
A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastene ...
, which had been lost on the way from St. Louis.
With nothing to hold in its hands, ''Vulcan'' soon became an advertising figure. Over the years, ''Vulcan'' held an ice cream cone, a Coca-Cola
Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance bar, temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pembe ...
bottle, and even Heinz
The H. J. Heinz Company is an American food processing company headquartered at One PPG Place in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the co ...
pickles. In the late 1920s, the statue was disassembled for inspection. During this time, children would often play around the disassembled statue. It was painted a flesh color and was reassembled in the early 1930s.
Atop Red Mountain
It was not until 1936 that the statue found a suitable home, thanks to the Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...
, which partially funded a new park in the city at the top of Red Mountain. A pedestal was built of local sandstone
Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks.
Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicat ...
, and ''Vulcan'' was hoisted into place. A new spear was fabricated to be held high in his right hand while his left hand held a hammer at his side. ''Vulcan'' was repainted in an aluminum like finish. The statue's naked buttocks
The buttocks (singular: buttock) are two rounded portions of the exterior anatomy of most mammals, located on the posterior of the pelvic region. In humans, the buttocks are located between the lower back and the perineum. They are composed ...
have been a source of humor for many years. A novelty song, "Moon Over Homewood," refers to the fact that the statue "moons
A natural satellite is, in the most common usage, an astronomical body that orbits a planet, dwarf planet, or small Solar System body (or sometimes another natural satellite). Natural satellites are often colloquially referred to as ''moons'' ...
" the neighboring suburb of Homewood, Alabama.
A nine-day festival commenced on May 7, 1939 to dedicate Vulcan Park. Evelyn Tully was crowned the Vulcan Queen. Guests of honor included the foundrymen who originally cast ''Vulcan''. A crowd of 5,000 was present for the opening night of the festival.
In 1938 a challenge was sent out to hundreds of engineers and architects throughout the Southeast to design the base and park area. There were hundreds of submissions but a little known draftsman by the name of Carl Franklin Edins from Birmingham, Alabama was unanimously declared the winner.
To take full advantage of ''Vulcan''s position overlooking Birmingham, the city's Junior Chamber of Commerce
The United States Junior Chamber, also known as the Jaycees, JCs or JCI USA, is a leadership training, service organization and civic organization for people between the ages of 18 and 40. It is a branch of Junior Chamber International (JCI). ...
in 1946 made the statue into a symbol for road safety
Road traffic safety refers to the methods and measures used to prevent road users from being killed or seriously injured. Typical road users include pedestrians, cyclists, motorists, vehicle passengers, horse riders, and passengers of on-roa ...
. His spear was replaced by a neon
Neon is a chemical element with the symbol Ne and atomic number 10. It is a noble gas. Neon is a colorless, odorless, inert monatomic gas under standard conditions, with about two-thirds the density of air. It was discovered (along with krypt ...
torch that glowed green, except during the 24 hours following a fatal traffic accident, when it glowed red. The spear was restored after the 1999–2004 restoration.
In 1949, ''Vulcan'' got new neighbors, when two television stations, WAFM-TV (now WVTM) and WBRC
WBRC (channel 6) is a television station in Birmingham, Alabama, United States, affiliated with the Fox network. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power, Class A Telemundo affiliate WTBM-CD (channel 24). The two stations studios ...
located their studios and towers on Red Mountain.
Centennial facelift
To celebrate Birmingham's centennial, the area around the statue was given a $1 million facelift in 1971. The original tower was clad in Alabama marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Marble is typically not foliated (layered), although there are exceptions. In geology, the term ''marble'' refers to metamorphose ...
with an elevator and observation deck added. A covered walkway also connected a gift shop and snack bar. ''Vulcan'' was repainted a rust red a few years later. ''Vulcan'' was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
on July 6, 1976.
Unfortunately, the statue itself had, when originally placed atop the pedestal, been filled up to the chest with concrete
Concrete is a composite material composed of fine and coarse aggregate bonded together with a fluid cement (cement paste) that hardens (cures) over time. Concrete is the second-most-used substance in the world after water, and is the most wid ...
and had begun to deteriorate seriously due to different expansion and contraction rates of concrete versus cast iron. By 1990, an engineering study found that the statue was in danger of collapse.
1999–2004 restoration
''Vulcan'' was removed during October and November 1999 in preparations for a $14 million renovation process that saw the park and pedestal restored to its original 1938 appearance. The statue sat in Vulcan Park's parking lot until the fall of 2001, when it was shipped to Robinson Iron to be repaired. The statue itself was thoroughly inspected and repaired, with some parts, including the lost spear point, re-cast. The new and restored pieces were thoroughly coated with a durable paint system, including a light-gray finish coat dubbed "Vulcan Gray" by the specifier.
Meanwhile, in 2002, the 1971 park additions were demolished, and scaffolding went up around ''Vulcan''s tower. Workmen cleaned and repaired the original tower. ''Vulcan''s head and right arm went on display at the Birmingham Museum of Art
The Birmingham Museum of Art is a museum in Birmingham, Alabama. It has one of the most extensive collections of artwork in the Southeastern United States, with more than 24,000 paintings, sculptures, prints, drawings, and decorative arts repres ...
while the tower was prepared.
''Vulcan'' was re-erected on a steel armature atop his tower during June 2003, restored to its original appearance as intended by Moretti, reoriented to the east. Television stations WVTM and WBRC both provided live webcam
A webcam is a video camera which is designed to record or stream to a computer or computer network. They are primarily used in videotelephony, livestreaming and social media, and security. Webcams can be built-in computer hardware or peripher ...
s of the reinstallation.
Shortly after the statue was reinstalled, the scaffolding came down, and a new observation deck, providing panoramic views of the area, was installed. The museum at the base was rebuilt and a new elevator was installed, but oriented so it would not be easily seen from downtown Birmingham. The original waterfalls were not rebuilt, though the stone walkways leading from the parking lot directly to ''Vulcan''s tower were restored. The statue and park were officially reopened in 2004, celebrating Vulcan's 100th birthday. In 2004, Vulcan Park welcomed more than 100,000 visitors who took in the statue's views of downtown Birmingham.
The restoration project received a National Preservation Honor Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is a privately funded, nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that works in the field of historic preservation in the United States. The member-supported organization was founded in 1949 ...
in 2006.
Vulcan Park and Museum
Vulcan Park and Museum (VPM) features views of Birmingham, an interactive history museum that examines ''Vulcan'' and Birmingham's story, and a 10-acre (4 ha) urban green space
In land-use planning, urban green space is open-space areas reserved for parks and other "green spaces", including plant life, water features -also referred to as blue spaces- and other kinds of natural environment. Most urban open spaces ar ...
. In May 2007, Vulcan Park and Museum was designated an official Birmingham Information Center by the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau and offers information on transportation services, restaurants, events and other cultural offerings in Birmingham.
Vulcan Park and Museum is operated by Vulcan Park Foundation, a non-profit organization with a mission to preserve and promote Vulcan as the symbol for the Birmingham region, to advance knowledge and understanding of Birmingham's history and culture, and to encourage exploration of the region.
See also
*Birmingham District
The Birmingham District is a geological area in the vicinity of Birmingham, Alabama, where the raw materials for making steel, limestone, iron ore, and coal are found together in abundance. The district includes Red Mountain, Jones Valley, and ...
*List of statues
This is a list of notable statues worldwide, past and present.
Algeria
* Ain El Fouara Fountain, Setif
* Constantine statue, Constantine
* Dihya statue, Khenchela
* Oruç Reis statue, Aïn Témouchent
* Shoshenq statue, Tizi Ouzou
Aust ...
*List of tallest statues
This list of tallest statues includes completed statues that are at least tall, which was the assumed height of the Colossus of Rhodes. The height values in this list are measured to the highest part of the human (or animal) figure, but exclude ...
*List of the tallest statues in the United States
This list of the tallest statues in the United States ranks free-standing statues based on their height from base to top. The list also includes novelty architecture.
Statues over 12.2 m (40 ft)
Statues between 6.1 and 12.2 m (20 and 40 ft)
...
* WVTM Channel 13 – local television station with call letter ''V'' for ''Vulcan''
*An ode to ''Vulcan'' by Alabama poet Charles Ghigna was published by AL.com.
References
Notes
Bibliography
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*
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External links
Vulcan Park and Museum
The Vulcan statue on display in St. Louis at the 1904 World's Fair
fro
St. Louis Public Library Digital Collections
''Vulcan'' photos and newspaper articles at the Birmingham Public Library
*Historic American Engineering Record
Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...
(HAER) documentation:
**
**
*
"Colossi of the Ancient World" – A Birmingham Historical Society Information booklet (2 pages in pdf)
''Vive Vulcan!'' – A Birmingham Historical Society activity book (40 pages in pdf)
{{National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places in Birmingham, Alabama
Outdoor sculptures in Alabama
Buildings and structures in Birmingham, Alabama
1904 sculptures
Colossal statues in the United States
Tourist attractions in Birmingham, Alabama
Parks in Birmingham, Alabama
Iron sculptures in the United States
Historic American Engineering Record in Alabama
Works Progress Administration in Alabama
Sculptures of Roman gods
1904 establishments in Alabama
Cast-iron sculptures
Vulcan (mythology)