Rivers of Steel

05/26/2026

Today at Carrie Blast Furnaces, students from Charleroi High School explored hands-on STEAM learning through metal casting, industrial arts, and Pittsburgh history, all while helping celebrate a partnership investing in the next generation.

And yes—it may be one of the only times forging a check is a good thing. 🔨

Thanks to the HDR Foundation for supporting Rivers of Steel’s Full STEAM Ahead initiative during the 150th anniversary year of the Bessemer process.

Full steam ahead!

05/20/2026

WHAT’S UP NEXT AT RIVERS OF STEEL

Industrial history. Hands-on art. Hidden Pittsburgh stories. Here’s what’s coming up:

🏭 Industrial Tours
Fridays, Saturdays & Sundays
Get inside the Carrie Blast Furnaces on our classic guided tour experience.

🖌️ Paintable Pittsburgh: The Art of Henry Koerner
Through July 31
Experience the work of one of Pittsburgh’s most compelling artistic voices.

🎨 Urban Sketchers at the Bost Building
Saturday, May 23
Bring your sketchbook and capture one of Pittsburgh’s most storied labor landmarks.

📸 Photo Safari Workshop
Sunday, May 24
Spend the day capturing the textures, scale, and atmosphere of Carrie Furnace.

⚒️ Iron Intensive
May 25–30
A full week of hands-on ironworking with artists and metalcasting professionals.

🔥 Intro to Iron Casting
May 28–30
Learn the fundamentals of molten metal casting in an unforgettable setting.

🎧 Graffiti at Carrie
June 14
Discover the layered history and evolving art of graffiti at the Furnaces.

⚒️ Blacksmithing Basics: Hooks & Hairpins
June 18
A beginner-friendly blacksmithing class.

⚒️ All levels Blacksmithing: Bladesmithing 1
June 20-21
A beginner-friendly bladesmithing class that results in your own kitchen blade.

🔥 Sculptural Aluminum Casting
June 23-25
Learn the fundamentals of molten metal casting in an unforgettable setting.

Explore the full calendar and reserve your spot. Links in comments.

04/22/2026

Opening This Friday!

Join us for the opening reception of Paintable Pittsburgh: The Art of Henry Koerner at the Bost Building in Homestead.

🗓 Friday, April 24
🕕 6–8 PM
📍 Bost Building, 623 E 8th Ave, Homestead
🎟 Free & open to the public

This retrospective honors Henry Koerner (1915–1995)—a Vienna-born Jewish artist, WWII veteran, and longtime Pittsburgh resident whose work captured the city’s neighborhoods, architecture, and people with remarkable warmth and intimacy. From painting 46 Time magazine covers from life to later watercolors and oils of Pittsburgh streetscapes, Koerner made this city his lifelong subject.

Come celebrate the opening, meet fellow art and history lovers, and experience a Pittsburgh story told through paint.

On view April 24–July 31, 2026.

More details at the link in the comments!

📸: Kenneth Love

04/16/2026

When was the last time your kid watched molten metal pour into a mold and couldn't stop asking questions? 🤔✨

The Hammer-In Festival is built for curious minds of every age. Kids and adults alike can explore hands-on activities, watch live coppersmithing and aluminum casting, and wander through a working machine shop frozen in time.

It's the kind of Saturday that turns into a story they'll tell for years.

Free admission
This Saturday, April 18
9am–4pm
Rices Landing

04/15/2026

Iron. Fire. A hammer. And a craftsperson who knows exactly what to do with all three. ⚒️

At the Hammer-In Festival, blacksmiths from across the region demonstrate their craft all day long — forging hot steel, shaping metal with precision, creating objects that will last a lifetime.

This is a front-row seat to one of the world's oldest trades, very much alive.

This Saturday, April 18.
Free.
All ages.
9am–4pm.

04/14/2026

Most museums put history behind glass. This one puts it in motion.

The W.A. Young & Sons Foundry & Machine Shop is a National Historic Landmark — one of the most intact early 20th-century industrial sites in the country. When it closed, everything was left exactly as it was: tools on the benches, machines ready to run.

This Saturday, the doors open. The line shafts come alive. Come see what that looks like.

It's the 45th annual Hammer-In Festival, and it could not be a better reason for a day trip to Greene County.

Free admission · April 18 · 9am–4pm · Rices Landing, PA

04/13/2026

You'll come for the blacksmithing.

You'll stay for everything else. 🛒🔥

The Hammer-In Festival is a full day out.

Explore the makers' marketplace, browse hand-forged goods and local artisan creations, grab food from local vendors, and don't miss the annual artwork auction, where blacksmiths donate one-of-a-kind pieces to support preservation of this irreplaceable site.

THIS WEEKEND!

Bring the family. Bring an appetite. Leave with something handmade.

Free · April 18 · 9am–4pm

On April 19, 2025 the Hammer-In Festival will return to the W.A. Young & Son Foundry and Machine Shop, a National Historic Landmark in Rices Landing, Greene ...