William Hanable,

Sloss Furnaces preserves two 1920s era blast furnaces in downtown
Birmingham, AL.  Each is over 120 feet tall and from the top affords a
spectacular view of city and the valley.  The site was idle for about ten
years prior to initial preservation efforts.  During that decade access to
the site was less than restricted.   Unfortuantely for us, a rite of
passage developed in the city involving several six packs and climb up the
fifty degree incline to the top-usually in the middle of the night.  In
addition, we have crane cabs in casting sheds, ladders up to platforms, and
many other interesting vantage points above the ground.

Our current policy is to keep the public out of and off of every structure
that posses a significant hazard.  We interpret the operation of the
furnaces from the ground level and try not to infer too much about the top
outside of the change in techology.  To deter climbing, we have installed
barriers that require a bit of agility to overcome and are currently
attempting to develop barriers visible primarily to those attempting to
climb the furnaces, that will require a significant level of agility to
overcome.  

Good luck.

Bode J. Morin
Curator
Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark