Vulcan statue (Birmingham, Alabama)

 statue, NRHP - National Register of Historic Places, interesting place, New Deal Depression Relief Project [1933-1945]

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Historic cast iron statue listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP).

Built: 1904
Designer: Giuseppe Moretti
Material: cast iron; sandstone pedestal
Area: 4 acres
Date added to NRHP: 7/6/1976
Notes: Vulcan was created as Birmingham's submission for the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. Intended to embody Birmingham's rich heritage of industry and manufacturing, it remains the largest cast iron statue in the world. After the Fair, the statue was returned to Birmingham and later reassembled at the Alabama State Fairgrounds. The statue came to its current location in 1936, when the Works Progress Administration created Vulcan Park. It was at this time that the statue was placed atop a 126-foot tall sandstone pedestal. An elevator tower was added in 2003.

The Works Progress Administration, which built the park and the statue's pedestal, was a New Deal program that operated between 1935 and 1943. It provided work for unemployed people who were struggling to find jobs during the Great Depression.