Vulcan statue
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Vulcan statue
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Vulcan
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| Location | Red Mountain, Birmingham, Alabama |
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| Coordinates | 33°29′30.18″N 86°47′43.86″W / 33.4917167°N 86.7955167°WCoordinates: 33°29′30.18″N 86°47′43.86″W / 33.4917167°N 86.7955167°W |
| Area | 4 acres (1.6 ha) |
| Built | 1904, 1939 |
| Sculptor | Giuseppe Moretti |
| NRHP Reference # | 76000333 |
| Added to NRHP | July 6, 1976 |
The Vulcan statue is the largest cast iron statue in the world, and is the city symbol of Birmingham, Alabama, reflecting its roots in the iron and steel industry. The 56-foot (17 m) tall statue depicts the Roman god Vulcan, god of the fire and forge. It was created as Birmingham's entry for the Louisiana Purchase Exposition (1904 World's Fair) in St. Louis, Missouri. The statue is the world's largest iron-ore statue, and among the nation's tallest.
Commissioned by the Commercial Club of Birmingham, Italian-born sculptor Giuseppe Moretti began designing the monumental figure in 1903, using a 6-foot (183 cm) tall model to study the form. He next sculpted a clay master model in an unfinished church in Passaic, New Jersey, and this was then divided into sections and transported by railroad to the Birmingham Steel and Iron Company for the preparation of casting molds for the iron.
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 11,000 pounds (4,990 kg). Iron forgemen designed and executed the connection details for the statue, which originally had no internal framework and was self-supporting. The grey iron castings were made in Birmingham entirely from locally produced iron.
The completed weight of the god Vulcan's figure alone is 100,000 pounds (45,359 kg). When Vulcan's anvil, block, hammer, and spearpoint are added, the statue weighs a total of 120,000 pounds (54,431 kg) and it stands on a pedestal that is 123-foot tall (37 m). The statue has a chest circumference of 22 feet 6 inches (7 m) and a waist circumference of 18 feet 3 inches (6 m).
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's "Palace of Mines and Metallurgy". It was awarded a "Grand Prize".
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