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Old MilwaukeeDrinking In the City's Brewing HeritageBy Toni Dabbs
The flight attendant might have been more serious than the laughing passengers realized because, to put a spin on the old Schlitz slogan, it's beer that made Milwaukee famous. And beer remains a major contributor to the local economy, with Miller Brewing Company headquartered at a virtual city within the city. Other historic breweries have closed, but their legacies live on.
The Pabst Mansion (2000 West Wisconsin Avenue), built in the Flemish Renaissance style between 1890 and 1892, is a testament to his success. Many of the 37 richly fashioned rooms beneath its traditional German gables have been accurately restored and may be toured. The captain also left his name on the Pabst Theater (144 East Wells Street), built in 1895 and now a National Historic Landmark. The theater is still a popular venue for musicals and plays, and tours are available.
Structures that once belonged to Schlitz Brewing Company also have been recycled. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Schlitz owned hundreds of taverns as sales outlets for its beer. Among the handful that still survive in the guise of other businesses are: Schlitz Brewing Company Building/Elsa's Restaurant (831-33 North Jefferson Street), the first large-scale commercial building to be constructed on Jefferson Street facing Cathedral Square; Schlitz Tavern/Three Brothers Bar and Restaurant (2414 South St. Clair Street); and Schlitz Tavern/Club Garibaldi (2501-07 South Superior Street).
The well known Schlitz slogan resulted from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, which destroyed most of that city's buildings, including its water works and breweries. Schlitz shipped large quantities of his product to Chicago to quench citizens' thirst, creating a demand for "The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous." Schlitz was purchased by Stroh Brewing Company of Detroit in 1982, but the name is commemorated in the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center (1111 East Brown Deer Road), a 255-acre wildlife sanctuary on the shore of Lake Michigan. The facility features seven miles of trails for hiking, snowshoeing and cross-country skiing, trails for physically challenged people, a 60-foot-high observation tower, exhibits and a nature store.
Miller Brewing (4251 West State Street) is now the second-largest beer producer in the United States. Complimentary walking tours of its extensive Milwaukee property begin at the Girl in the Moon Gift Shop and end at the Bavarian style Miller Inn, dating from 1892, with free samples for guests 21 years of age and older. In between, participants visit the brew house, packaging area, shipping department, and the historic Miller Caves Museum. The company's name now graces Miller Park (One Brewers Way), new home of the Milwaukee Brewers baseball team and the only ballpark in North America with a fan-shaped convertible roof and natural grass playing field. Behind-the-scenes tours are wheelchair accessible and include the dugout, clubhouse, press box, broadcast booth and luxury suites. Although many of the big names in brewing are gone, Milwaukee has a flourishing brewpub community, with a number of establishments located on or near the recently developed RiverWalk, which meanders through downtown along the Milwaukee River.
For those who prefer the city's mainstay, there's the Miller Time Pub (509 West Wisconsin Avenue), where waitresses wearing dirndls serve locally made Usinger sausages, sandwiches piled high with turkey, beef or pork, and well chilled beer. Needless to say, the pub is one place where "Anytime Is Miller Time." IF YOU GOThe Park East Hotel: Located in a quiet neighborhood between the downtown core and the shore of Lake Michigan. On-site dining. Complimentary downtown shuttle service. 916 East State Street, phone 800-328-7275/414-276-8800, http://www.parkeasthotel.com Milwaukee County Transit Trolley: Three routes provide access to many of the city's attractions. Trolleys run every 10 to 12 minutes and cost just 50 cents per ride, 25 cents for seniors and the disabled. Phone 414-344-6711, http://www.ridemcts.com/trolley RiverWalk Boat Tours: A guided cruise on the Milwaukee River includes stops at three microbreweries to sample their products. Pere Marquette Park, phone 414-283-9999, http://www.riverwalkboats.com Photos by Toni Dabbs FOR MORE INFORMATIONGreater Milwaukee
Convention and Visitors Bureau Copyright 2002 by Toni Dabbs. This work, including photographs, is protected by copyright and may be used only for personal non-commercial purposes. All other rights are reserved, and commercial use is prohibited without permission of the author. |
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"Welcome to
Milwaukee," said the Northwest Airlines flight attendant as the plane taxied
to the gate. "Local time is... Miller time."
Prominent among
the beer barons who built Milwaukee was Frederick Pabst, a dashing steamship
captain who married the daughter of Phillip Best in 1862. Two years later,
he bought half interest in Best's modest brewery, which produced 5,000
barrels a year. By 1873, he increased the company's output to 100,000
barrels and became its president.
Milwaukee's
massive Pabst plant now sits empty, with some possibility of redevelopment
along the lines of the Blatz Brewery Complex (bounded by Broadway, Highland,
Juneau Avenue and Market Street). Blatz evolved from a small brewery founded
in 1845 by John Braun, who died six years later. Braun's widow married the
ambitious brewmaster, Val Blatz, and renamed the company for him. By 1900,
Blatz was the city's third-largest brewery.
Relatively few
buildings remain of what was once a huge complex, and most of those have
been revitalized as offices and apartments. The Art Moderne ceramic-clad
bottling plant (1025-47 North Broadway) is now part of the Milwaukee School
of Engineering, as is the former administrative center (1120 North
Broadway).
Joseph Schlitz
was another beer baron who married into the industry. He was bookkeeper for
August Krug, a restaurateur and brewer, when Krug died in 1856. Schlitz
immediately assumed management of the operation and, two years later, took
Krug's widow as his wife, changing both her name and the brewery's to his
own.
Of course, the
biggest brewing name in Milwaukee today is Miller. Frederic Miller studied
beer making in his native Germany and in France before arriving in Milwaukee
in 1855. He re-opened the Plank-Road Brewery, a five-year-old plant that had
been abandoned by its owner a year earlier.
Milwaukee Ale
House (233 North Water Street) occupies a century-old former saddlery and
sail making facility, with a rear terrace overlooking the river. The
atmosphere is cheerful, the food delicious, and the beer excellent. The
malty amber Louie's Demise is a crowd pleaser, and the Orange Blossom Cream
Ale is a summer specialty.
Stout Bros.
Public House (777 North Water Street) is situated in an 1874 bookbinder's
shop. Decorated with vintage signs from Milwaukee's brewing legends, its own
creations include the full-bodied Tavernor Nut Brown Ale and an unfiltered
Yodeler Weisse made with 100-year-old yeast strains imported from Germany.