Vulcan Park Events
Education
Timeline of Vulcan's History
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 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.