Gipfel Brewery - Union Brewery, Milwaukee Wisconsin
A nineteenths-century historian, whose account may well have been based on conversations with Charles Gipfel, states that the first Gipfel brewery building on this site was erected in 1843, but that the present one was constructed ten years later.
The building was constructed either for David Gipfel or for his older son Carl Wilhelm (Charles). Family ownership of the property dates back to June 30, 1843, when David Gipfel purchased the lot from Daniel and Cordelia Brown for $400.00. He added adjoining property to his holdings with the purchase from Harvey Birchard on November 25, 1845. It is documented that the Gipfels operated a small brewery on this site during the 1840's. By 1851 at the latest, Charles Gipfel had assumed control of the firm, which he called the Union Brewery, and he remained in business here through the late nineteenth century--at various times as a brewer, a saloonkeeper, and a dealer in wine and liquor.
During the 20th century the structure has belonged to, among others the Seefeld (Siefeld, Siefield) family, Mrs. Ila Warren, the Marman Soap Company, the Cooks family, and now, the Berthers. It has served both residential and commercial purposes. Among Milwaukeeans its best remembered twentieth-century occupant was the Eisner harness shop and leather goods firm.
