Founded in 1838 and later known as the “Arsenal of the Confederacy,” the Tredegar Iron Works was an impressive, if crowded, complex of dozens of mostly brick industrial structures. After it fell into disrepair, for many years the impressive brick arches recalled ancient Roman ruins. Very little of the original machinery remains. Some stabilization and restoration took place in the 1980s. In 1994 the complex served as Valentine Riverside, a short-lived attempt by the Valentine Museum to establish an industrial history theme park here. Today the brick foundry building serves the Ethyl Corporation, which owns the complex, as a multi-use conference center. In 1998 the National Park Service developed a visitor center at the site for Richmond-area Civil War battlefields.