Vulcan's Timeline
October 1903
Commercial Club chooses Vulcan to represent Birmingham.
November 1903
Italian sculptor, Giuseppe Moretti, is chosen to sculpt the iron statue of Vulcan.
November - December 1903
Moretti creates a full size clay model of Vulcan.
January-March 1904
Plaster casts are created from the clay model. Plaster casts are shipped to Birmingham. Moretti arrives in Birmingham to oversee the casting of Vulcan. J. R. McWane's Birmingham Steel and Iron Company casts Vulcan out of Sloss No. 2 pig iron.
April - June 1904
Vulcan's feet and legs are shipped to St. Louis. The World's Fair opens on April 30, but there was not much of Vulcan to see! The last piece, Vulcan's head, is shipped to St. Louis. Moretti arrives in St. Louis to supervise Vulcan's assembly. Vulcan is dedicated at the World's Fair in the Palace of Mines and Metallurgy and christened with water from the Cahaba River. Vulcan won the Grand Prize in the mineral department at the Fair; Moretti also won a medal.
February 1905
Vulcan is shipped back to Birmingham. He lays in pieces along the railroad tracks of the Birmingham Mineral Railroad for 18 months.
September 1906 - 1935
Vulcan is located at the Alabama State Fairgrounds. 1935 Kiwanis Club spearheads the effort to move Vulcan to his present perch atop Red Mountain. WPA funds help finance the project.
1936
Groundbreaking for the new Vulcan Park and installation of Vulcan on his new sandstone pedestal.
May 1939
Vulcan is dedicated on Red Mountain with a nine day-long celebration.
1946
A torch is added over Vulcan's spear. When the torch shines red, it signals a traffic fatality; the green light symbolizes no fatalities.
1968 - 1971
Vulcan Park is modernized as part of Birmingham's 100th anniversary.
1991
Engineering studies declare that Vulcan needs repair.
1999
Vulcan Park Foundation is formed to raise monies for needed repairs for Vulcan, renovation of the park and construction of the new Vulcan Center. Vulcan Park is closed and Robinson Iron of Alexander City, Alabama removes Vulcan from his pedestal.
1999 - 2001
Visitors get a close-up view of Vulcan as he sits in a fenced area on park grounds.
2001
Vulcan Park Foundation raises a sufficient amount of funds for Robinson Iron to transport Vulcan to their foundry to restore the statue. In addition to restoring the statue, Robinson Iron patternmakers create a new spear point and hammer (the originals were lost upon Vulcan's return from St. Louis.)
2002 - 2004
Demolition of the 1970s park modernization begins. The marble cladding which covers Vulcan's original sandstone pedestal is removed and the pedestal is restored to its original condition. Vulcan Park is returned to look much like the original 1938 park. Interpretive outdoor exhibits were installed. Vulcan Center was constructed and tells the story of Birmingham's past, present and promise for the future through interactive and visitor-friendly exhibits.
2003
Vulcan returns to his home on Red Mountain and all of Birmingham watches as the beautifully restored Vulcan is returned to his pedestal, piece by piece. Vulcan is reinstalled as closely as possible to the way he stood at the St. Louis World's Fair in 1904.
March 2004
Vulcan Park and Museum opens to the public.
June 2004
Vulcan's 100th birthday is celebrated with a huge birthday party at the Park. Vulcan is dedicated a second time with water from the Cahaba River.
May 2005
Vulcan Park and Museum becomes one of the highest-profile wireless hotspots in the Southeast.
November 2006
The restoration of Vulcan is awarded the highest honor in historic preservation, The National Trust for Historic Preservation Honor Award.
April 2007
Vulcan Park and Museum retires construction debt.
May 2007
Vulcan Park and Museum is designated an official Birmingham Information Center by the Birmingham Convention and Visitors Bureau, solidifying Vulcan Park and Museum as the gateway to Birmingham’s other cultural, educational, heritage, and natural resources.
June 2007
Vulcan Park and Museum takes lead role in organizing the largest fireworks show in the state of Alabama – Thunder on the Mountain.
March 2008
Vulcan Park and Museum welcomes their newest team member, "V." This six foot plush version of Vulcan brings the iron man to life and serves as a mobile educational and marketing tool in the greater Birmingham community and beyond.
March 2009
Vulcan Park and Museum celebrates its Five-Year Anniversary of the park’s re-opening to the public. To celebrate this milestone, Vulcan Park and Museum unveils a new, interactive permanent exhibit that allows visitors to access information about Birmingham from a series of state-of-the-art, touch-screen kiosks.
June 2011
A marble sculpture by Vulcan creator Giuseppe Moretti is unveiled along with minor gallery enhancements and exhibit renovations at Vulcan's 107th Birthday Bash. Moretti sculpted the bas relief cameo carving of Alabama white marble in 1904 as a gift for James A. MacKnight, who commissioned Moretti to create Vulcan as Alabama's exhibit in the 1904 St. Louis World's Fair. MacKnight's grandsons, Thomas E. and the late James MacKnight Washington donated the sculpture to VPM. The sculpture is now on view as part of Vulcan Center Museum's permanent exhibits.
