Tennessee Brewery
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| Tennessee Brewery | |
|---|---|
| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | Memphis, Tennessee |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Built/Founded: | 1890 |
| Architect: | Unknown |
| Architectural style(s): | Romanesque |
| Added to NRHP: | November 25, 1980 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 80004482 |
The Tennessee Brewery building stands at the intersection of Butler and Tennessee streets in Memphis, Tennessee. It is directly on the bluff overlooking the Mississippi River. The building once housed the Tennessee Brewing Company, a leader in early brewery production.
[edit] History
The brewery was originally organized in 1877 by G.H. Herboro as "The Memphis Brewing Company". In 1885, it was bought by J. W. Schorr, Casper Koehler, and associates, and soon became one of the largest breweries of the era.[1]
The first beer marketed from the brewery was named, simply, "Pilsener". Later, two new brands called "Colombian" and "Erlanger" were produced, before prohibition shut down operations.
At one point, more than 1500 workers worked at the brewery. By 1903, production was up to 250,000 barrels per year making this the largest brewery in the south. Prohibition shut down operations, however after prohibition the best known and leading beer sold in Memphis for many years was "Goldcrest". After 1938 the beer was named "Goldcrest 51", to honor more than 51 years in the brewing business.[2]
Goldcrest 51 was a bottled beer until 1947, when they started using cans. As a somewhat local beer, the brewery actually used returned bottles up until they ceased all operations, in 1954.
The building that remains today was erected in 1890 and is basically unchanged from that time (other than renovations performed to keep the building intact for possible further development in the future)[3]. Plans have been made in the past to turn the building into condominiums or shopping space[4], however none of these have worked out as yet.
[edit] References
- ^ Flemmons, Kenn (2003). Finest Beer you ever Tasted. Goldcrest Holdings, 116. ISBN 0615124321.
- ^ Museum of Beverage Containers and Advertising - Breweries of Tennessee
- ^ Wilkins, Andrew (2001-04-19), “That's Sprawl, Folks - Memphis' "growth" is coming from poor land management, not a population increase.”, Memphis Flyer, <http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/Content?oid=oid%3A995>. Retrieved on 2008-01-28
- ^ Phillips, Bianca (2003-04-25), “Free Art Tomorrow - Group hopes to revive the historic Tennessee Brewery downtown.”, Memphis Flyer, <http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/Content?oid=oid%3A3815>. Retrieved on 2008-01-28
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