Tennessee Brewery

Infobox nrhp
name = Tennessee Brewery
nrhp_type =

---

caption = Tennessee Brewery
location = Memphis, Tennessee
locmapin = Tennessee
lat_degrees = 35
lat_minutes = 8
lat_seconds = 2.07
lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 90
long_minutes = 3
long_seconds = 45.67
long_direction = W
area =
built = 1890
architect = Unknown
architecture = Romanesque
added = November 25, 1980
refnum = 80004482
mpsub =
governing_body =

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.

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. [cite book
last = Flemmons
first = Kenn
title = Finest Beer you ever Tasted
url = http://www.goldcrest51.com
publisher = Goldcrest Holdings
pages = 116
year = 2003
isbn = 0615124321 ]

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. [ [http://www.gono.com/museum2003/museum%20tour/0tn%20breweries.htm Museum of Beverage Containers and Advertising - Breweries of Tennessee] ]

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) [Citation
last = Wilkins
first = Andrew
title = That's Sprawl, Folks - Memphis' "growth" is coming from poor land management, not a population increase.
newspaper = Memphis Flyer
date = 2001-04-19
accessdate = 2008-01-28
url = http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/Content?oid=oid%3A995] . Plans have been made in the past to turn the building into condominiums or shopping space [Citation
last = Phillips
first = Bianca
title = Free Art Tomorrow - Group hopes to revive the historic Tennessee Brewery downtown.
newspaper = Memphis Flyer
date = 2003-04-25
accessdate = 2008-01-28
url = http://www.memphisflyer.com/memphis/Content?oid=oid%3A3815] , however none of these have worked out as yet.

Current status

The Tennessee Brewery is currently owned by The Tennessee Brewery LLC, and sits atop the river bluff near the South Main Arts District. The convert|65720|sqft|m2 property was appraised in 2005 at $248600. Brewery Tennessee LLC transferred the property for $350000 to The Tennessee Brewery LLC in 1999. It was transferred to Brewery Tennessee LLC in 1995 from Marvin Ratner. [cite news
first=Andy
last=Meek
title=Underutilized Downtown Properties Await Development
date=2005-08-23
url =http://www.memphisdailynews.com/editorial/Article.aspx?id=28690
work =Memphis Daily News
accessdate = 2008-09-02 ]

References