Situated on top of Red Mountain in Birmingham, Alabama sits the world’s largest cast iron statue: Vulcan.
Now you are probably thinking why does a classic southern city have a Roman god as its symbol?
Birmingham, founded in 1871, has a deeply rooted history in the steel and iron industry. With rich veins of coal, iron ore and limestone this city boomed as an industrial city. To help advertise the city and state, Birmingham officials funded the building of a cast iron statue to be revealed at the 1904 World’s Fair, and thus Vulcan was born. Designed by Giuseppe Moretti, Vulcan was revealed on June 7, 1904 and moved back to the city in 1905.
Since his move to Vulcan Park on Red Mountain, Vulcan has been the keeper of Birmingham.
If you are looking for a unique perspective of the Magic City and want a history lesson of it’s industrial history, check out the Vulcan Park & Museum. The museum offers an interactive experience of Birmingham and Vulcan’s history.
