Sloss Furnaces unveils new color-changing lights under 1st Avenue Viaduct

Birmingham officially launched its newest light display on the grounds of the Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark on July 23, 2026.

Roughly 500 people attended the inaugural “Under the Lights” 1st Avenue Viaduct lighting event, sponsored by Regions Bank, Lumen Pulse and AMA Lighting.

In addition to providing the public the first glimpse of the brand new light feature, the event held a live metal casting and poster printing exhibit. 

How to see the Sloss 1st Avenue Viaduct lights?

 

The 1st Avenue Viaduct is a historic elevated roadway bisecting the 32-acre Sloss Furnaces campus in Birmingham, Alabama

Here’s what you need to know about catching the show.

According to David Arias, the Executive Director of Sloss Furnaces,  the 111 lights that were installed extend over 1000 feet under the historic viaduct will be displayed at some of Sloss Furnaces’ 100+ events, including:

• Bare Hands Inc.’s Día de Muertos Alabama
• Furnace Fest
• Southbound Food Festival

Arias told Bham Now that the colors will enhance events like Dia de Muertos, where it can display the colors of the Mexican flag.

“Using a controlling mechanism on our phones or on the web we can change  the colors to pretty much anything we want, and in some cases some pre-programmed combination of colors. We worked with local lighting designer Mike White and Lumen Pulse and AMA Lighting in order to get all that done.”

David Arias, Sloss Executive Director

The historic landmark welcomes over 100,000 visitors a year. 

Sloss lights up Birmingham regularly

This is not the first light display at Sloss.

In June 2022, members of the Sloss family, public officials and several hundred Sloss supporters gathered at Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark to reveal a new set of color-changing LEDs that illuminate the 140-year-old landmark’s water tower, boilers and smokestacks. 

Completed in two phases, the project installed 133 lights that made Sloss Furnaces visible from every major highway at a cost of around $400,000, funded through private donations.

Periodically, throughout the year, you can see Sloss’ stacks lit up to bring attention to several causes, including Breast Cancer Awareness and Brain Injury Awareness Months.