Bygone breweries: the remains of Chicago's once-large

52 Journal of the Brewery History Society

Bygone breweries:

the remains of Chicago's once-large brewing industry

Introduction

Unlike neighboring Milwaukee, Chicago

has never been known as a centre of

brewing. This is not to say it wasn’t a

sizable local industry. Historically, plenty

of beer has been brewed in Chicago

with numerous breweries operating in

the city. The number of brewing compa-

nies reached a peak in the 1880s and

1890s.

National Prohibition (1919-1933) was the

final nail in the coffin for a number of

Chicago breweries, many of which did

not reopen after the amendment was

repealed. Others labored on for some

time after, but with the 1978 closing of

the Peter Hand brewery, Chicago

became devoid of large-scale brewing

until 1992.

What happened to brewery structures

after companies ceased operation?

Most were demolished, sometimes after

a period of reuse by another industry.

However, a few former brewery struc-

tures remain standing, and they will be

discussed in this article. Some of

Chicago’s brewing remnants are large,

encompassing most or all of the former

structures of a brewery operation. Others

are considerably smaller, only consisting

of a garage or other secondary building

remaining from a former brewery.

It is important to note that only one of

these structures, the Schoenhofen pow-

erhouse, has attained city landmark

status, leaving open the possibility that

most all of the tangible remnants of

Chicago’s once-sizable brewing industry

could eventually disappear without a

trace.

Best Brewing Company

The former Best Brewing Company com-

plex is a good candidate for the ‘best’

brewing remnant in Chicago. Located in

the 1300 block of Fletcher in Lake View,

it was in operation from 1885 until 1961;

quite a long run for a Chicago brewery.

Between 1885 and 1891 the complex

was owned by several brewers, including

Klockgeter and Company, before it

became the Best Brewing Company.1

Designed by German architect Oscar

Beyer, most of the buildings comprising

the Best complex were built in the 1890s,

according to the National Register of

Historic Places.

53Brewery History Number 133

Figure 1. This image dates from 1987, when the complex was being converted into a residential

loft complex called ‘The Brewery.’ (Photo: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency)

Figure 2. Plaque on the former Best

brewery.


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Figure 4. The administration building exhibits a strong Germanic touch with its

castle-like cornice. This photograph shows the building being ‘condoized’ in

1987. (Photo. Illinois Historic Preservation Agency)

Figure 5. The administration building today.


Figure 6. A pleasant, private courtyard forms the interior part of the

complex.

Figure 7. More of the buildings under renovation for residential use. (Photo. Illinois

Historic Preservation Agency)


Figure 8. Most of the buildings in the complex have limestone tablets denoting

their function.

Figure 9. Best was one of the earliest and largest canning breweries in Chicago. It

began canning its product for many local grocery stores in 1936.2


Figure 10. Two more 1987 views show more of the brewery complex.

It was built in a simple vernacular style with subtle old-world

references, typical of American breweries built during the late 19th

Century. (Photo. Illinois Historic Preservation Agency)

Figure 11. See above. (Photo. Illinois Historic Preservation Agency)


Brand Brewing Company

Although heavily altered, the Brand

Brewing Company is one of Chicago’s

most visible brewing remnants. Located

at 2530 Elston, it began brewing in 1899.

The history of this brewery is very com-

plex and often confused with another

former brewery located across Elston

which was also owned by members of

the Brand family. The Brand brewery

depicted here did not survive for long

after Prohibition was repealed in 1933,

operating only until 1935.3

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Figure 13. This building was used for hop storage and settling tanks. It originally stood a couple

stories taller (as did the building to its left), but was shortened to its current height at some point

between 1935 and 1950, according to Sanborn fire insurance maps.

Aside from being an important physical remnant of Chicago’s brewing history, the Brand

Brewing complex provides an excellent example of the reuse and evolution of an indus-

trial site. In 1950, the brewery buildings were in use by a multitude of firms, including a

cold storage company, hardware warehouse, and rubber works. The front office addition

was added in 1949, likely for the cold storage operation. Surprisingly, this addition was

cut off at some point! When this occurred, a former doorway between it and the older

building was bricked up.


Figure 14. This image depicts the administrative building as well as part of the

incongruous 1949 office addition.

Figure 15. The neighboring Home Depot parking lot provides a good view of the

back of the former brewery, which once consisted of several more buildings

located on the site of this parking lot.

The Mutual Brewing Company

Constructed in 1907, the Mutual brewery

has survived relatively intact. Located on

Spaulding just north of Cermak, this small

brewery remained in operation until

1924.4 Indeed, brewing continued five

years into Prohibition as a 1923 Sanborn

fire insurance map confirms. The archi-

tecture of the brewery is quite simple

compared to others in the city. The tall

main building contained the brewing and

packing operations. Also still standing

along Cermak (not shown) is a small

structure that housed offices and storage.


Figure 16. The Mutual brewery


Figure 17. The rear of the building is angled because it was originally served by a

railroad siding. Since closing as a brewery in 1924, the building has been used

by a variety of other operations. For example, a 1950 Sanborn fire insurance

map shows it in use as a warehouse.

Figures 18 and 19. Surprisingly, the cornerstone remains on the building. The date of

construction, 1907, and architect, F. Gatterdam, are listed in addition to the names of the

company’s administrators. Is a time capsule full of breweriana still inside? Perhaps one day we

will find out…

City Brewing Company

It has not been definitively confirmed, but

this humble building at the corner of

Hoyne and Rice was likely the office for

the City Brewery, which brewed in this

location between 1882 and 1906.

Originally the Francis J. Dewes Brewery,

it was known by several other names

over the years before finally becoming

the City Brewery Company.5 A 1916

Sanborn fire insurance map shows this

building being used as the offices for the

West Side Ice Company, which seeming-

ly took over the brewery property and

was in business for many years; it was

still operating at this location in 1950,

according to Sanborn maps.


Figure 20. The City Brewing Company.

Carl Corper/Canadian Ace

Located on Union just south of Pershing,

this brewing remnant has a complex and

somewhat murky history. In the 1890s, it

was home to the Carl Corper Brewing

and Malting Company. Neighboring it to

the west, on Emerald, was the since-

demolished Manhattan Brewing Company.

By the 1930s, the Corper brewery had

been acquired by Manhattan Brewing. In

1947, Manhattan, which by then had

become one of the largest canning brew-

eries in the country, was renamed

Canadian Ace Brewing.6

The brewery was a large complex that

included the building pictured as well as

many others on Union and Emerald that

are now demolished. In 1895 (as part of

Corper Brewing), the building pictured was

involved in the actual brewing process,

while by 1950 (as part of Canadian Ace) it

was being used for office space; brewing

was happening on the Emerald side (in

the old Manhattan brewery) by then, with

most of the Union side being used for

storage and offices. Canadian Ace

remained in business until 1968, though it

is unknown if this building was still being

used by them up until that time.7


Figure 21. Carl Corper/Canadian Ace.

Monarch Brewing Company

On 21st Street just west of Western sits

this nondescript group of brick buildings.

Monarch Brewing (first known as the

Joseph Hladovec Brewing Company)

operated on this site from 1890 until

1967, making it one of Chicago’s longer

lasting breweries, and one of the few to

survive long after the end of Prohibition.8

The section on the left with bricked up

windows was once a bottling house for

the brewery (likely built in the 1930s),

though it has been heavily altered and

shortened. A former warehouse and ship-

ping building on 21st Place is also still

standing. All of the other former brewery

buildings on the site have been demol-

ished over the years.


Figure 22. Monarch Brewing Company.

Pilsen Brewing Company

What could be considered Chicago’s

most hidden brewing remnant is this

building from the former Pilsen Brewing

Company, brewers of the once locally

famous ‘Yusay Pilsen’ beer. Opened in

1903, the brewery was located between

26th and 27th Streets west of Whipple.9

The complex included a notable beer gar-

den associated with the brewery. A 1950

Sanborn fire insurance map shows the

building pictured being used for case

storage. Pilsen was bought by Canadian

Ace in 1963.10 It was apparently closed

around the same time, with most of the

site demolished and replaced with a

shopping center.11 Somehow, this build-

ing along 27th Street survived and was

integrated into it. A former garage associ-

ated with the brewery also survives to the

west of this building.


Figure 23. Pilsen Brewing Company. (Photo Noah Vaughn)


The following article has been adapted,

with kind permission, from the website of

Forgotten Chicago. The goal of this

organisation is twofold. First and fore-

most, to discover and document little

known elements of Chicago’s infrastruc-

ture, architecture, neighborhoods and

general cityscape, whether existing or

historical. Secondarily, by exposing many

of these often overlooked elements of

Chicago’s built environment to a wider

audience, they hope it will promote

greater interest in their preservation.

Chicago is vast in scale and complex

enough that there could easily be anoth-

er brewing remnant or two out there that

has not yet been located. If you happen

to know of one, please let Forgotten

Chicago know at:

http://forgottenchicago.com

References

Sanborn fire insurance maps were consulted

extensively for this article.

1. Van Wieren, D.P. (1995) American

Breweries II. 1st edition. Eastern Coast

Brewiana Association: West Point, PA.

2. Pospychala, P. and McFarland, J. (1979)

The Great Chicago Beer Cans. Silver Fox

Productions: Libertyville, IL.

3. Van Wieren, D.P. (1995) op. cit.

4. ibid.

5. ibid.

6. ibid.

7. ibid.

8. ibid.

9. ibid.

10. ‘Canadian Ace buys brewery; second in

year.’ ( September 11th 1963). Chicago

Tribune (1963-Current file) ,p. e8. Retrieved

August 19th, 2009, from ProQuest Historical

Newspapers Chicago Tribune (1849 - 1986).

(Document ID: 572611032).

11. ‘Pilsen Park will swing again soon.’ (July

12th 1964). Chicago Tribune (1963-Current

file), p. w1. Retrieved August 19th, 2009, from

ProQuest Historical Newspapers Chicago

Tribune (1849 - 1986). (Document ID:

577828732).

Bygone breweries: the remains of Chicago's once-large

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