This was once the Largest Beer Brewer in the U.S.

Joseph Schlitz Company Brewery Complex, Milwaukee Wisconsin

Date added: August 09, 2024

Do you have an update on the current status of this structure? Please tell us about it in the comments below.

The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company, is one of Milwaukee's best-known breweries and the nation's leading beer manufacturer for much of the first half of the twentieth century. Consisting of ten extant buildings constructed between 1886 and 1948, the Schlitz complex includes the corporate headquarters and almost all of the buildings most central to the brewing operation.

Brewing Industry in United States

Brewing of lager beers began in the United States in the 1840s, and quickly supplanted English-style ales as the most popular brewed beverages consumed in the United States. Although beer-making in general was by this time an ancient tradition in many cultures, lagers represented a relatively recent invention, having been developed in Central Europe near Munich and Bavaria. Although different accounts attribute the first lager brewing to one of several Philadelphia-area immigrants from the German states, other German and Austrian immigrants established small breweries in quick succession in locations as varied as New York, California, Chicago, and Milwaukee. Lagers developed a significant level of popularity among the American populace during the 1850s and 1860s, and the number of breweries nationwide proliferated accordingly, growing from a total of 431 in 1850 to 3,286 in 1870. Unlike ales, which are brewed using a top-fermenting yeast that results in a dark, cloudy drink that is generally consumed at room temperature, lagers are produced using yeast that ferments at the bottom of the vessel and produces a clearer, lighter-tasting beverage that is generally consumed cold, a fact that may have been more appealing to people living in the less temperate American climate. The introduction of lagers to the United States also coincided with the massive mid-nineteenth-century wave of immigrants from the German states and much of northern and central Europe, an influx that dramatically changed the social face of several American cities. Finally, beer sales also received a substantial boost in the northern United States at the onset of the Civil War, when a one-dollar tax was levied against each gallon of liquor and each 31-gallon barrel of beer. Although whiskey had previously been the drink of choice among non-German Americans, this tax resulted in beer becoming a less costly drink than whiskey, with the result that beer sales in non-German areas grew exponentially.

This proliferation of breweries, most of which were relatively small operations serving a local customer base, reversed itself during the last quarter of the twentieth century, as the nationwide industrial trends toward mechanization and consolidation forced the closure or merger of numerous local breweries. Simultaneously, the same forces, as well as the growing sophistication of regional and nationwide shipping and communication networks, began to allow for the creation of nationally prominent breweries, which could advertise, ship, and sell their product across the country. Brewing production nationwide reached a peak in approximately 1910, but the subsequent decade saw a considerable decline in the fortunes of brewers of all sizes, as the prohibition movement and, in some locations, anti-German sentiments adversely impacted beer sales. The onset of federal Prohibition in 1919 forced the virtual closure of most of the nation's breweries, both large and small, although many tried to remain afloat by manufacturing near beer, soft drinks, flavoring syrups and a host of other products. By the time the Volstead Act was repealed in 1933, even fewer small brewers were still functional, and the large nationwide brewers were even better situated to consolidate their market gains. Although most of the major breweries underwent expansion in the mid-to late-1930s, the lingering consumer impact of the Depression generally limited sales to pre-1910 figures. World War II subsequently curtailed brewers' ability to access raw materials, further crimping growth, but it also allowed national and would-be national brands to expand their reach by supplying their products to the Armed Services. Demand for beer, and particularly for nationally-available brands, exploded in the post-war era, continuing the trend toward expansion and consolidation throughout most of the remainder of the century, creating a few nationally advertised brands and companies having numerous plants in locations across the United States and abroad.

Between the mid-nineteenth and mid-twentieth centuries, the brewing process retained fundamentally the same steps and processes, although the level of control over the variables and the scale and mechanization of the tasks all increased substantially. Brewing beer requires three fundamental processes: malting, brewing, and fermenting. Malting is the process of softening and germinating barley kernels, which provide the base ingredient for almost all types of beer. Malting generally involves soaking the kernels in water, permitting them to sprout uniformly by continuous turning, and then drying the partially-sprouted kernels to stop the germination process. After a period of aging, the barley, now referred to as malt, is ground into a coarse meal, mixed with water, and heated to carefully specified temperatures; additives such as corn or rice may also be added. This mixture is precisely monitored; when the sugars within the malt have largely dissolved, the mixture is termed wort. The wort is then transferred to a brew kettle, where cones from the hops plant are added while the mixture is boiled and stirred in order to enhance the beer taste. After a specified period of time, the remaining solid matter is strained out and the wort is cooled and transferred to fermenting casks. The wort must then be cooled to near-freezing temperatures, and the addition of yeast at this time instigates the fermenting process, which raises the alcohol content and carbonates the beverage; chemical or mechanical means increase the carbon dioxide content. After a period of a week to several weeks, the finished beer is ready to be strained and packaged.

Brewery architecture evolved to reflect the increasing size, complexity and sophistication of the industry, as building forms generally Similar to those of other industries during the same time period became associated with the larger breweries. Although early brewers often housed the entire process within a single building, most soon developed a need for additional space, particularly for storage of the finished beer, which required large cellars with sufficient room for both beer casks and the necessary amount of ice. Some small brewers continued to use such cellars into the twentieth century, but most took advantage of mechanical refrigeration, generally available by the 1870s and 1880s, to move their storage above ground. Desire to expand production in the late 1800s also required larger amounts of storage capacity for grains prior to malting, larger spaces for malting and drying, and larger kettles for boiling and brewing, all of which required buildings of a size seldom previously built for a brewery. Many of the larger firms also did their own cooperage, and later operated their own bottling plants; both of these activities were ill-suited to being housed under the same roof as the other processes and generally received their own buildings. As a result, all but the smallest local breweries had developed by the late 1800s into multi-building industrial complexes, with different parts of the process housed in buildings designed to the specifications of the tasks conducted within. An elaborate network of wagons, pipelines and other transportation means ferried the product from one stage to the next. Like buildings belonging to other industries during the late 1800s and early 1900s, brewery buildings often received relatively elaborate architectural ornamentation, particularly if the building in question was particularly large or visible due to its location. Since brewery buildings tended to be constructed of brick or stone, their designs often featured corbels, rusticated stone arches and northern European Revival styles. Brewery buildings constructed after Prohibition and after World War II included many of the same building types, but were often constructed on an even larger scale than previously; they also tended to follow architectural norms common to other industrial buildings of the period, with simple Streamlined and later International Style treatments being common.

Early American brewers had little understanding of the chemical processes instigated by the tasks of brewing, and, as a result, batch quality could vary drastically for reasons that the brewer could not understand, predict or control. Although such variations were generally acceptable to small-scale brewers, companies that wished to capture a larger market were forced to find ways to limit these fluctuations, since the customers they targeted would seek predictability and consistency in lieu of the familiar but unreliable local product. Introduction of mechanical innovations during the late 1800s helped alleviate some of this unpredictability; steam heat, mechanical stirring devices and mechanical refrigeration provided more consistency and control over such factors as temperature than the traditional wood fires, ice cellars and hand-stirring paddles did. Additionally, the late 1800s and early 1900s saw the development of scientific approaches to brewing, as the chemical processes of the various stages were analyzed, experimented upon and often altered in order to assure a more consistently high-quality product. Improvements in brewing were closely followed by improvements in packaging, as bottles and cans joined and partially supplanted barrels as the preferred shipping method. Although some brewers had used ceramic bottles as early as the mid-1800s, wide-scale bottling of beer did not commence until the 1870s and 1880s, when pasteurizing beer after bottling made it possible to ship and store unrefrigerated beer without spoiling. By the turn of the century, most of the nation's larger brewers were bottling a significant portion of their output. Cans were first introduced in the 1930s, but did not become widely accepted until the 1960s.

The Schlitz company, which started as a small local brewer, was among the first companies in the nation to attain national status, becoming the nation's leading producer in 1902 and maintaining that title until Prohibition and later. As such, the company's history exemplifies many of the general developments common to the industry, including the rapid evolutions in terms of brewery architecture and building types, scientific processes, and packaging. Despite its early national role, however, the development of Schlitz must also be examined in the context of the numerous breweries that developed in Milwaukee.

Brewing Industry in Milwaukee

Although Schlitz proclaimed itself "the beer that made Milwaukee famous," the city also hosted numerous other breweries, many of which became regionally and nationally prominent during the same time period as did Schlitz. The first breweries in Milwaukee were established in the 1840s and early 1850s, near the height of the first wave of German immigration to Milwaukee. Most of these businesses were operated by German immigrants, many of whom had previous experience owning or managing German breweries. Unlike many immigrants, several of these entrepreneurs also had access to modest amounts of capital, either their own or that of family; this economic advantage allowed these brewers to expand their operations at a relatively quick pace. Pre-Civil War Milwaukee breweries, however, were almost universally tiny in relation to both other industrial establishments and their later counterparts. In 1859, Milwaukee had 26 breweries having a total production value of just over $300,000. These breweries employed, on average, four people; by contrast, the average Milwaukee shoe shop at that time employed six people and the average foundry needed 25 employees. During this time period, even those breweries that would later become national giants produced only a few hundred barrels per year, all of which were sold and consumed locally. The Val Blatz brewery, for example, produced only 150 barrels during Blatz's first year of ownership in 1851, while the Frederick Miller brewery on Plank Road in the Menominee Valley produced 300 barrels in 1855. By the immediate post-Civil War era, however, expansion in physical property and production were leading to massive increases in production. By 1868, Blatz produced over 15,000 barrels of beer yearly; by 1880 this total had reached 125,000. Meanwhile the Best Brewing Company, which was later incorporated as Pabst, mushroomed from 7,000 barrels in 1860 to over 100,000 in 1873.

Several factors influenced this level of growth, reflecting national, regional and local developments. By the early 1870s, some of Milwaukee's better-established breweries began to take advantage of the city's new and rapidly expanding railroad network to ship their products to dealers and outlets outside of Milwaukee. One of the first targets of this expansion was Chicago, which received huge quantities of Milwaukee beer in the aftermath of the 1871 fire, which destroyed almost all of the city's local breweries and severely damaged the city waterworks. By 1872, nearly one-half of the beer produced in Milwaukee was being sold outside the city; and sales of the Milwaukee brands were up, on average, forty-four percent. The development of refrigerated railroad cars in the early 1870s also spurred this growth, as did bottling and other technological innovations beginning later in that decade, as discussed previously. Much of the breweries' success is often attributed to the firms' willingness to quickly implement new technologies and scientific findings, despite the cost and complications that invariably accompanied such decisions. Most breweries continued to be owned and operated during the late 1800s and early 1900s by descendants or relatives of the original owners, and this second generation also tended to be well-versed in the details of the brewing science.

Although the breweries became the most well-known of Milwaukee's products, exponential growth in a variety of industries reshaped the city during the same time period. Flour and lumber mills, tanneries, foundries, and a host of other types of heavy manufacturing proliferated during the same time period as the breweries rose to prominence. This growth in affluence, as well as the expansion in population brought on by the city's employment opportunities, also helped the large breweries consolidate their gains. As in other areas of the country, however, growth also led to consolidation, as smaller breweries found it increasingly difficult to gather the capital necessary to increase production, or the income to increase sales through marketing or wider distribution. By 1869, ten of the city's 1859 breweries had closed or been absorbed by other firms; at the same time the value of the industry's production had grown to over $700,000. By 1879, this total mushroomed to nearly $45,000,000.

Between 1873 and 1910, two Milwaukee brewers became national giants, while other breweries expanded into larger regional markets. From 142,000 barrels produced in Milwaukee in 1871, 3,700,000 were recorded in the city by 1910. Both the Best Brewing Company, which was renamed for its longtime president, Frederick Pabst, in 1889, and the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company were among the first in the nation to establish aggressive marketing and distribution networks that covered a significant portion of the nation; these two establishments were consistently among the nation's largest beer producers for most of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Best/Pabst concern became the nation's second-largest brewer in 1872, and by 1893 the firm had sales of over one million barrels per year, making Pabst the largest beer producer in the nation. Pabst held this title until 1902, when Schlitz sales surpassed Pabst for the first time. By the late 1870s Pabst, like Schlitz, was undergoing a major physical expansion of its plant; Pabst began bottling its product in 1875 and installed its first mechanical refrigeration plant in 1878. Pabst also undertook massive marketing campaigns during this era, as did Schlitz; by the 1890s Pabst owned fashionable taverns, restaurants, and theaters in New York and other cities. Many of Milwaukee's smaller breweries also expanded and undertook aggressive production and marketing initiatives during the same time period; Miller installed electric lights at its plant in 1880, and Blatz used a more modest national advertising campaign to make itself the third-largest brewer in Milwaukee by 1884.

Beer production in Milwaukee peaked at nearly four million barrels in 1910; providing employment in that year for over 3200 people. Beer sales began to decline during the 1910s, however, as a result of the growing power of the prohibition movement and increasing anti-German sentiments among the American populace during the years leading up to and during World War I. By this period, most Milwaukee breweries had unmistakably German names and had often emphasized or highlighted their German heritage in their marketing as an indicator of their authenticity. Although the larger breweries were able to gain some market share in South American at the expense of the blockaded Germans, these gains were not enough to offset the massive impact of federal Prohibition following the War. Production of beer was prohibited by the Volstead Act in 1919, and brewers in Milwaukee, as across the nation, scrambled to find means of keeping their businesses afloat. Miller Brewing Company applied its "High Life" label to a non-alcoholic "cereal beverage," Pabst made soft drinks and cheese, several brewers made low-alcohol "near beers" and all sold malt syrups and other malt by-products for use in baking. Such efforts, however, barely kept the companies functional. After less than two years of Prohibition, the value of the city's beverage production dropped from $35 million to less than three million dollars, and by 1929 the sector's employment totaled less than 600 people. Such severe economic impacts, coupled with the onset of the Depression, were among the often-overlooked factors leading to the repeal of the Volstead Act in 1933.

Unlike many communities that lost most or all of their local breweries as a result of Prohibition, most of Milwaukee's best-known breweries had sufficient financial backing to be able to survive Prohibition and prepare for resumption of brewing. Most companies had anticipated repeal, and had conducted continued research and prepared expansion plans in preparation for the resumption of normal business. By the end of 1933, Milwaukee's breweries employed eight thousand people and had spent approximately ten million dollars on reconditioning their plants. Sales, however, resumed slowly as a result of the continuing economic difficulties; most Milwaukee breweries did not reach their pre-Prohibition sales figures until after World War II. Several firms did undertake significant plant expansions beginning in 1936 and 1937, and by 1940 the city's nine remaining breweries represented a total value in real estate of close to twenty million dollars. World War II affected Milwaukee's breweries in much the same manner as it affected brewers nationwide, and by the early post-war era investment in breweries and the battle for national market share recommenced in earnest.

Schlitz Brewing Company

In 1846, immigrant August Krug began brewing small amounts of beer in the cellar of his restaurant, which was located on West Chestnut Street, now known as West Juneau Street, between Fourth and Fifth streets. In 1850, Krug's father, a former wine-maker, arrived in Milwaukee with a sum of money to invest in the embryonic brewery. Accompanying the senior Krug was an eight-year-old nephew named August Uihlein, who would remain in the United States and eventually run the brewery founded by his uncle. Krug used his father's money to purchase a parcel of land at the corner of North Third and West Walnut streets for storage cellars, approximately the location of the northwest corner of the present complex. At the same time, Krug hired four employees, including a bookkeeper named Joseph Schlitz. In 1851, Krug's brewery had a capacity of 400 barrels, most of which was presumably consumed in his restaurant. Krug died in 1856, and Joseph Schlitz purchased the brewery and married Krug's widow. Schlitz appears to have discontinued the restaurant and focused on the brewery business; by 1865 the company produced 4,400 barrels per year.

Like most of the other breweries that would come to dominate the Milwaukee industry, Schlitz's brewery expanded rapidly in the years immediately following the Civil War. By 1869, production topped seven thousand barrels, and in 1870 and 1871 Schlitz erected his first dedicated brewery buildings near the corner of Walnut and Third Streets. The brewery produced 8,707 barrels in 1870 and in 1871 increased sales over 170%. Much of this increase was due to the sudden opening of a new market, one which the previous years' investment made it possible for the Schlitz company to exploit. In the aftermath of the Chicago Fire in October 1871, Schlitz became one of the first Milwaukee breweries to ship large amounts of its product to Chicago; beer drinkers in that city began buying large quantities of Schlitz beers almost immediately. Schlitz became a major industrial concern in incredibly short order during the 1870s, with production reaching nearly fifty thousand barrels within two years of the fire. Part of this growth was also due to increasingly aggressive advertising; the slogan "Schlitz, the beer that made Milwaukee famous" was derived from the Chicago Fire coup and debuted in 1872. Such rapid expansion required a more sophisticated organizational structure, and the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company was incorporated in January 1874 with an initial capitalization of $200,000. In addition to Schlitz, who became president, the new firm's officers included Schlitz's step-nephew, August Uihlein, and two of August's brothers, Henry and Alfred. In that year, the firm produced approximately seventy thousand barrels of beer.

in 1875, while returning to his native town for a visit, Schlitz was killed in a shipwreck. The Uihlein brothers inherited their uncle's majority share of the corporation, and the Uihleins became the officers of the firm following Schlitz's death, but Schlitz's will stipulated that the company must retain his name in perpetuity, a demand which the Uihleins honored. Despite the shock of the disaster within the family and the community, the growth of the Schlitz Brewing Company was little impacted, with production and improvements to the property continuing to expand at a breakneck pace. Production nearly doubled over the next four years, reaching nearly 122,000 barrels in 1879. Of this total, twenty thousand barrels were sold in Milwaukee; the rest were shipped across the United States and to a variety of locations abroad. At this time the company employed 382 people in Milwaukee, including 177 coopers, 65 brewers, and 25 teamsters. The first Schlitz bottling plant opened at the corner of Third and Galena streets in 1877, and filled one million bottles in its first year. A second bottling house at the corner of Second and Galena was built in 1878, doubling the firm's bottled beer sales. In 1879, the Schlitz Brewing Company also bought a former Milwaukee amusement park and reopened it as Schlitz Park, for decades popular among Milwaukeeans for its beer garden, fountains, menagerie and outdoor theater.

The remarkable architectural consistency that came to characterize the many historic resources that were and are contained within the evolving Schlitz complex was due to the company's decision to hire brewery design specialist Fred W. Wolf in 1874. Shortly after Schlitz's relocation and reorganization [in 1870-1871] the new corporation began making use of the services of the German-born Chicago architect Fred W. Wolf, one of the first to concentrate on brewery design. Through the next three to four decades, the architectural development of the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company, Milwaukee's second-largest brewery, was guided by Fred Wolf, then by the firm of Wolf and Lehle, then by Louis Lehle alone.

Production continued to accelerate through the 1880s, with the 1889 total of over 400,000 barrels equaling more than two and one-half times the production recorded in 1880 and over five times the total for 1875. Throughout most of the last quarter of the twentieth century, Schlitz held a position as one of the five largest beer producers nationwide, running in many years second only to Pabst. In 1883, assistant superintendent William Uihlein returned from a trip to Denmark with apparatus for growing a pure yeast culture; the use of pure yeast had been pioneered at the Carlsberg Brewery in Denmark earlier that year. Under the pure yeast system, the yeast to be used in all of a brewery's beer manufacture was propagated and maintained under sterile conditions. The genetic consistency of all of the yeast used, as well as the fact that it had not become contaminated by the bacteria common to uncontrolled yeast propagation, resulted in a fermentation catalyst that could be relied upon to act in an entirely predictable and uniform manner in every batch. As one brewing industry historian states, the pure yeast culture meant that "brewing failures were virtually banished." Schlitz became the first United States brewery to implement this significant new technology; the Best Brewing Company did not implement its own pure yeast culture until 1887. Other new technologies were rapidly coming into prominence in the brewing industry during the 1880s as well, and, as one of the nation's largest breweries, the Schlitz firm was frequently among the earliest implementers of these innovations. In 1885 Schlitz imported the first Linde ice-making machine to the U.S., a breakthrough for American breweries in that mechanical refrigeration would allow breweries to maintain the cold temperatures needed at specific points in the brewing process without huge, below-ground cellars half-filled with ice. Not only did mechanical refrigeration allow for even more precise control of optimal brewing conditions, but it opened up significant amounts of additional storage space, and thus brewery capacity, simply by eliminating the need for gigantic stacks of ice blocks. By 1894, at least two large "ice machines" had been installed in the Schlitz brewing complex.

During the 1870s to 1890s, the physical geography of the Schlitz complex underwent a profound evolution as well. As discussed previously, most of the initial brewery buildings were constructed in the early 1870s and were concentrated near the corner of Third and West Walnut streets, the present northwest corner of the property. These buildings included a malt house on the corner of Third and Walnut; a combination malt house, brew house and engine house to the east on Walnut, and a building with cold storage and keg-filling facilities on the corner of Second and Walnut. By the mid-1880s, the firm began a series of massive physical expansions that more than doubled the brewery's physical plant and also incorporated elaborate and relatively high-style architectural ornamentation not seen on the earlier, more utilitarian structures. The physical expansion appears to have been planned in stages; the first two buildings constructed were the massive stock house along Third Street, between Galena Street and the older malt house at Walnut; and the office building constructed just south of the new stock house. The new stock house, which also housed hops storage, beer storage tanks and ice machines in its rear sections, was clearly designed to meet anticipated future capacity, as was the new six-story Brew House, constructed in 1890. The new brew house, in turn, was located near the 1878 bottling house, a frame structure which was replaced by a large brick building in 1899, and by a new malt house and elevator to the south (non-extant), both of which were constructed by 1894. By 1894, the remainder of the available land between Galena and Walnut to the west of the primary brewery buildings was occupied by an assortment of predominately frame structures housing storage for ice, grain, and kegs, as well as a keg repair building and a stable. The complex was informally bordered by the Chicago, Milwaukee & St. Paul railway lines along Commerce Street; the parcels between Commerce Street and the river were occupied by unrelated industrial concerns. Similarly, the majority of the block south of the Brew House and Office was predominately occupied by houses, tenements and small businesses.

Schlitz reached its pre-Volstead Act zenith during the first decade of the twentieth century, surpassing Pabst's production totals for the first time in 1902 and retaining its title as the nation's largest beer producer until Prohibition. In 1903, the company was recapitalized at twelve million dollars, a value that was enhanced not only by the company's new industry-leading status, but by the firm's longstanding investments in real estate, banking and insurance operations. By 1904, production exceeded ten times the brewery's total output in 1875, and by 1906 the firm reached a yearly production total of 1.5 million barrels, the highest total production by a single brewery prior to Prohibition. Construction at the brewery site also continued, although at a less frenetic pace that appeared to represent the company's expanding needs rather than any elaborate long-range plan. Meanwhile, Schlitz also continued to support sophisticated scientific research geared toward improving the beer-making and beer-packaging processes. A seminal breakthrough came in 1911, with the discovery that the relatively poor shelf life of bottled beer at that time was due to exposure to light, which hastened the process of spoiling the beer within the bottle. In response to this information, Schlitz developed a bottle made of brown glass, which blocked most of light's harmful effects and resulted in bottled beer that could be kept for longer periods of time. Invention of the brown bottle further consolidated Schlitz's position as an industry leader, both in terms of volume and in product quality.

As with all other breweries, the implementation of the Volstead Act in 1919 crippled the Schlitz Brewing Company, although the level of the firm's capitalization and its national reputation for excellence did give the company an advantage in weathering the dry years. Like other large breweries, Schlitz shifted some of its production capacity to near beers and malt syrups; Schlitz also attempted to market a candy bar known as the Eline, a phonetic spelling of the ownership family's name. In 1933, the year of the repeal of Prohibition, the Schlitz company made one million barrels of beer, and the presidency of the firm passed to Erwin Uihlein, son of August. The change in leadership also coincided with the implementation of an aggressive physical expansion and marketing program, which started in earnest in 1936. By 1937, two million dollars had been spent on physical expansion, including the addition to the north end of the 1886 stock house and other peripheral buildings (non-extant). One of the improvements constructed following Prohibition was the Brown Bottle Guest Hall, which was placed in a small addition between the office building and the Brew House. The Brown Bottle, named for the results of the 1911 discovery of light's effect on bottled beer, was begun in 1936 and was designed both as a tavern and as a sample room for guests who had been touring the brewing facilities. In accordance with this tourist emphasis, the Brown Bottle was designed to evoke an Old World tavern of the previous century, with elaborate antique and locally handcrafted details that strived for a pronouncedly picturesque effect that would convey both gentility and a sense of authenticity to the brewery's industrialized production.

The construction of the Brown Bottle was also illustrative of two additional elements of the internal and national environment surrounding Schlitz during the mid-to late 1930s. Although Schlitz leadership appear to have anticipated a strong rebound following legalization of beer, the lingering effects of the Depression dampened sales growth. By 1937, four years after Repeal, Schlitz was brewing just under 1.4 million barrels per year, and the company had slid to the position of fourth-largest producer in the nation. It is likely that this relatively sluggish growth caused the company to both hold back on much of its expansion plans and to redouble efforts to more aggressively market Schlitz beer. The Brown Bottle was certainly a central element of the marketing strategy, and brochures describing the guest hall's charm and attractions became centerpieces of plant tour information, both in materials distributed on-site and in those geared toward inviting potential tourists. At the same time as the Brown Bottle Guest House was being constructed, Schlitz began the most intensive nationwide marketing campaign in its history to date:

Early in February 1937, Schlitz began a campaign of full-color advertising in thirteen large magazines, designed to reach four out of every five homes in the United States. Publicity appeared in 500 city newspapers during the summer, twenty-four-sheet bill postings were displayed in 500 cities, and the Schlitz Palm Garden of the Air carried the message to the nation's radio listeners.

Although beer production was discontinued during Prohibition, research continued on the assumption that legality would eventually be restored. By 1934 Schlitz researchers understood the workings of the enzymes present in the brewing process well enough to be able to use environmental factors, such as humidity and temperature, to optimize the enzymes' activities. These discoveries led to a great deal of the massive expansion and retrofitting that began in the mid-1930s and was continued after World War II.

By 1943, the company became the second-largest national producer at over three million barrels. Even at this late date, only three breweries in the nation could claim to produce over one million barrels per year. In addition to Schlitz and Pabst, the remainder of this elite club included St. Louis-based Anheuser-Busch and three New York breweries whose product was sold almost exclusively within the New York metropolitan area. Much of Schlitz's production, however, was shipped to the military, while wartime limitations on the purchase of cereals crimped the company's potential output. Schlitz, however, anticipated better days to come, and in 1944 purchased the equivalent of seven city blocks adjacent to the brewery in order to expand it facilities. New construction started within months of the war's close, and by 1948 three large additional buildings stood on the site, including the 1947 power house, the 1948 Technology Building, and the first portion of the new bottling house east of Commerce Street. In 1947 Schlitz brewed over four million barrels, and resumed it position as the largest brewer in the nation.

At least one building (non-extant) was added to the Schlitz complex following 1948, but during the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s corporate attention turned to expanding the company's reach by building a nationwide network of regional brewing plants. Schlitz and Anheuser-Busch spent much of the 1950s and 1960s in close competition to achieve this level of national prominence, buying or constructing new breweries in similar locations throughout the period. Prior to 1949, virtually all Schlitz beer, regardless of its final destination, had been brewed in the Milwaukee complex, the only exception being a small amount produced in an aborted effort to establish a satellite brewery in Cleveland, Ohio between 1908 and 1910. Schlitz bought a New York brewery in 1949, built a new complex near Los Angeles in 1954, bought a complex in Kansas City in 1956, built a brewery in Tampa, Florida in 1959, and added facilities in Longview, Texas; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; and Memphis, Tennessee between 1966 and 1971. This rapid expansion both taxed the company's resources and made the Milwaukee brewery, with its nineteenth-century buildings and equipment, increasingly peripheral to the company's production. Schlitz which had been the largest producer nationwide for most of the years since 1943, lost the title to Anheuser-Busch in 1960 and remained the nation's second-largest brewer through most of the 1970s. A series of public relations debacles during the late 1970s, brought on by legal difficulties, alterations to the production process and failed advertising campaigns further eroded the company's position, and in 1981, during a bitter strike, the company opted to close its Milwaukee brewery. Within less than a year the entire Schlitz operation nationwide had been sold to the Stroh Brewing Company of Detroit.

During the mid- to late-1980s, most of the remaining buildings of the Schlitz complex in Milwaukee underwent adaptive reuse and were converted to public and private sector offices, and a middle school.

Site Description

The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company Brewery Complex consists of ten buildings constructed between 1886 and 1947. The buildings represent administrative, manufacturing, brewing, bottling and warehousing facilities associated with the historical operation of the Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company, and vary in architectural styles from the Astylistic Utilitarian vernacular form to German Renaissance Revival-influenced Late Victorian to the Moderne Style. All of the buildings are constructed of cream-colored brick, with traditional "cream city" brick appearing on the older buildings and pressed or glazed brick in closely-matching shades appearing on the newer structures. The complex's extant buildings generally exhibit good integrity. The pre-1930 buildings, which comprise the majority of the extant property, typically feature elaborate and brightly-colored terra cotta nameplates, date plates, insignias and other decorations, all of which are highly intact. Although most of the buildings have had window sash replaced, few alterations to fenestration patterns have occurred since the close of the period of historic significance. Several buildings' window sash replacements resulted from the buildings' adaptive reuse, as fixed louvers and false windows were replaced with glazed openings in order to allow for the interior's reuse by human occupants.

The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company complex is located on the west side of the Milwaukee River near the north edge of the historic Central Business District of the City of Milwaukee. The property is located in an area generally bounded by McKinley Avenue to the south and West Walnut Street to the north, that was historically dominated by industrial land uses from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s. Tanneries and grist mills initially concentrated along the river at this location, being generally replaced in the years surrounding the turn of the century by the expansion of the Schlitz complex; the Commerce Street Power Plant (1903-1941); and an extensive railroad yard. A neighborhood commercial district lies to the north of the Schlitz complex, while a combination of lower-density commercial and warehouse structures occupies much of the blocks immediately to the west of the Schlitz buildings. The area between the eastern portion of the property and the river is primarily occupied by a large office building. This building did function as part of the Schlitz complex, and was built in two phases, one in 1947 and one in 1959-60. As the 1960 portion comprises a significant portion of the building, and as it is separated from the balance of the extant complex by vacant land and the North Commerce Street right-of-way.

The industrial area surrounding the Schlitz buildings retains much of its historic industrial appearance despite the fact that some properties are underutilized or vacant. The Schlitz buildings in particular contribute to this visual continuity because of their exterior integrity, which has been maintained despite the buildings' recent adaptive reuses for offices and a school.

General Features

The Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company consists of ten buildings and comprise almost all of the historic building types extant on the property at the close of the period of historic significance. At the time of the brewery's closure in 1982, the complex included eleven additional buildings ranging in date of construction from 1886 to 1950, among which were counted three grain elevators and an extremely large Quonset hut. These buildings were demolished between 1985 and 1990 in order to accommodate the adaptive reuse of the remaining buildings. Most of the demolished buildings stood at the south edge of the complex and included three storage buildings, the grain elevators, a 1937 building whose historic use is unknown, and the quonset hut. Three buildings in the northern portion of the complex were also demolished, including a ca. 1886 storage building, a 1937 malt house and a 4950 storage and fermentation building.

The majority of extant buildings in the complex date from between 1886 and 4915, with three structures dating from between 1936 and 1947. These more recent historic structures include one free-standing building; one building which was constructed against the side wall of another structure, and one addition to an older building All of the Schlitz buildings are two to six stories in height and are constructed of cream-colored brick. The older buildings have cut limestone foundations, with the degree of stone dressing varying from the more ornamented to the more utilitarian facades; the newer buildings have no visible foundations. All of the older buildings are ornamented with terra cotta insignia bearing, at the minimum, the Schlitz name; most also include the name and date of the building or other details, such as the Schlitz belted globe logo. In general, the most elaborate ornamentation may be found on the Stock and Malt House, the office, and the Brew House, with smaller-scale but still significant ornamentation found on the stable and Bottling House No. 1. The 4947 Power Plant, the 1947 Technology Building and the 4936 addition to the Stock and Malt House are also all constructed of cream-colored brick and blend well with the older structures, despite the expectedly differing architectural treatments and the relative lack or ornamentation. With the exception of the Brew House and that portion of the Office building containing the Brown Bottle Pub, the interiors of all of the Schlitz buildings have been entirely altered in order to permit the former industrial spaces to be adaptively reused as office and school facilities. The specific buildings' exteriors, as well as the two significant interiors, are described in greater detail below.

Stock and Malt House: 1886/1936

The Stock and Malt House is in many respects the most visually dominant of the complex's structures, as it occupies the full block face along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive (historically known as North Third Street) between West Galena and West Walnut streets. The original portion of this building, which extends north from the West Galena corner approximately three-quarters of the length of the entire structure, was built in 1886 to a design by Chicago architect and brewery design specialist Fred W. Wolf. The northernmost section of the building and a fourth-story addition across the top of the 1886 building, were constructed in 1936. Historic photos taken in 1983, however, show that the original west-facing facade of the 1936 portion was substantially redone between 1983 and 1985 in order to accommodate subsequent adaptive reuse. This resulted in four floors of window openings being punched through a facade that originally had no openings of any kind.

The 1886 structure's primary facade also faces west along a grade that slopes to the south. Both portions of the building are faced in cream-colored brick: scattered portions of the west, north and south facades have dark-colored bricks interspersed among the cream bricks. This phenomena appears to have resulted from imperfect bricks which absorbed more soot than their counterparts; these speckled patterns appear on portions of the building in photographs taken as early as 1939.

The west-facing facade consists of seventeen bays across the 1886 portion of the building, each bay being marked by a pair of round-headed windows at each floor and divided from adjoining bays by pronounced belted brick piers. These window openings received glazing, primarily one-over-one double-hung sash, following the building's renovation in 1985. One third-story bay near the center of the facade was also incorporated into an elevated walkway crossing the street during the recent renovations. According to historic photographs dating from the turn of the century and from 1939, almost all of the openings in the 1886 building were originally infilled with wooden louvers and lacked any glazing. The louvers were used to control the temperature and humidity within the building, which was primarily used to store and prepare grains for use in brewing. Replacement of these louvers with glazing was, of course, necessary in order to permit humans to occupy the structure. The piers between the bays are continued through the added fourth story, terminating above the flat parapet with slight projections. The wall surfaces between the piers at the fourth story level are marked by a single circular louvered opening. According to historic photographs, the 1886 building originally had a mansard roof inset with round louvered openings, which was replaced by the extant fourth story in 1936 and which is substantially unaltered from that time.

The 1886 building is dominated at the roofline by two large, elaborate features that are original to the building and highly intact. The center of the west-facing facade is marked by a Flemish-style stepped gable that commences at the fourth floor above two of the bays described previously. Two round arches of brick with intervening stone blocks spring from simple stone capitals placed at the summits of the three adjoining piers' capitals; each arch is set over a four-part semicircular window. A narrow cornice extends across the gable above the two arches; this cornice is marked at either corner by a pointed finial. The gable rises in two steps above this level, each step being framed by scrolled brackets flanked by finials. The middle step has two round-headed windows decorated with stone springers and with keystones at their centers; these are flanked by two terra cotta rosette medallions. The top step is nearly square and frames an inset terra cotta square bearing the Schlitz belted globe logo. This step is in turn surmounted by a low pediment, which is flanked by finials identical to those below and bears an ornamental antefix at its apex. With the exception of the windows' replacement sash, this feature is entirely intact and original. The southwest corner of the building is marked by an elaborate cupola, which rises above three-part semicircular third-story windows on both sides of the corner above two inset metal plaques bearing the inscription, "JOS. SCHLITZ BREWG. CO." The cupola's base rises from a narrow cornice with dentils, and has three round-headed windows on each of its west and south faces under a plain cornice studded with rosettes. The corners of the cupola's base are marked by semi-hexagonal protrusions which terminate above the cornice in semi-conical roofs surmounted by spherical finials. Between these corner features and above the cornice with the rosettes rises a gablet inset with a sunburst at each facade. The curved, eight-sided roof of the cupola rests upon these features and three of its sides feature glazed oculus windows. A narrow balcony with railing circles the uppermost portion of the cupola, an octagonal structure having eight round-headed panels separated by semi-cylindrical piers and culminating in an octagonal onion-dome roof surmounted by a finial. This cupola is also entirely intact and original, with the exception of the replacement windows. Both ornamental features are highly visible landmarks for the Schlitz complex.

The west-facing facade of the 1936 northernmost portion of the building has eight bays divided by piers similar to those noted on the balance of the building. The bays at either end are still completely original and have no openings, but the six interior bays now have paired double-hung windows at each of the first three floors and round-headed transoms over paired double-hung sash at the fourth floor, all of which were put in place between 1983 and 1985. Raised square brick panels are set on the spandrels between each floor, and a raised brick belt course extends across the two end bays of the addition, immediately below the fourth-floor level. These are aligned with the original cornice line above the third story of the 1886 building and are extended across the north facade of the 1936 addition. The north facade of the Stock and Malt House belongs to the 1936 addition and it is marked by protruding piers identical to those described on the west-facing facade of the addition, but has no openings with the exception of a pair of steel security pedestrian doors at the center of the facade. The only ornamentation of this facade is found in the extreme upper west corner, where the area between the two westernmost piers and the beltcourse described previously is inset with header bricks and bears a concrete plaque that reads, "JOS SCHLITZ BREWG CO."

The south-facing facade of this building, which is a portion of the 1886 structure, also has the same general features as the west-facing facade of the original structure, with only minor exceptions. The windows of the second bay at this facade were partially bricked closed and replaced with pedestrian doors leading to a fire escape prior to 1939; these openings were in tum bricked closed at an undetermined date. The next bay to the east also has the paired round-headed openings found across the primary facade, but the remaining seven bays of the facade consist of singly spaced windows with plain stone hood molds and narrower belted piers on either side of the fourth bay, as well as at the corner. This alteration in facade pattern represents the different historic use of this portion of this structure, which as early as 1894 included hop storage, ice machines and ammonia condensing equipment. The windows of this portion of the facade were also filled by wood louvers. The rear or east-facing facade of the building is dominated by an assemblage of smaller building masses having a variety of fenestration patterns. These sections also represent different activities associated with the function of the Stock and Malt House; all have received replacement windows but are otherwise substantially unaltered. The building houses a middle school and school district offices; as a result, the interior of the former storage and industrial building has been entirely altered.

Office: 1886/1910

The Schlitz office building was initially constructed as a one-and one-half story structure with a hipped roof, the building was enlarged in 1910 with the construction of a full second story on top of the original structure. The building's primary facade, which faces north, has somewhat irregular fenestration but a generally symmetrical facade which is dominated at the flat roofline by a wide cornice with shallow brackets. The primary entry has a rusticated stone surround matching the foundation, the doubled doors being inset under a deep semicircular arch. The company name appears on a terra cotta plaque over this arch and is flanked by two plaques bearing the belted globe insignia. The first floor is demarcated from the second floor by a wide stone belt course placed above the first floor, which indicates the roofline of the 1886 building, and the second story windows themselves rest upon a second, thinner continuous stone belt course. The building has two groupings of four windows each at the first floor to the west of the entry, and nine singly-spaced windows at the second story west (right) of the entry. The building has three singly-spaced windows in the slightly protruding bay over the entry, and the facade east of the entry has matched upper and lower bays having three windows in the first bay and two windows each in the two adjoining bays. The southeast corner of the building is rounded and inset into it is a single window at the first and second stories. All of the windows on this facade and on the west-facing facade have one-over one double-hung glazing and appear to be original to the building. Historic photographs indicate that all of these windows historically had single-pane transom lights above them; these existed as late as 1939 but were removed and infilled with closely-matching brick at an undetermined date. The building originally had three bays across its west-facing Third Street facade; an addition having two and one-half identical bays and a low penthouse with matching cornice was constructed between 1939 and 19488. The addition is identical in materials, detailing and fenestration to the older portion, and the stone, brickwork and cornice detailing is virtually seamless.

Most of the building is occupied at present by offices, which retain some historic materials but contain no known historically significant spaces. The Brown Bottle Pub, however, is located in the southeast corner of the building and was incorporated into the 1940s addition. Constructed in 1936, the Brown Bottle was one of the most elaborate and best-known interior spaces within the Schlitz complex, since it was heavily promoted as a tourist destination and received substantial patronage from those touring the brewery. The Brown Bottle may be divided into three public spaces: the entry, the sample room or barroom, and the dining room, which was historically reserved for banquet facilities. The barrel-vaulted entry space, which is accessed by a staircase leading from a door at the rear of the building, is finished in dark oak and features antique English doors, hand-hewn ceiling beams, and Old English-style lighting fixtures, all of which were installed in their current locations when the Brown Bottle was constructed. The sample room includes original windows, and wall treatments, originally-installed antique ceiling beams and other hardware; the original back bar with the belted globe logo, although replaced with a non-historic cabinet, is installed behind a booth across from the bar. The dining hall features antique double oak doors, an embossed ceiling and hand-crafted chandeliers constructed of wrought iron and elk's horns. The interior of the Brown Bottle has been little changed since its construction.

Stock House: 1907

The Stock House is a massive six-story structure with a seventh-story penthouse that was designed by Chicago architect Louis Lehle. The building is also of cream brick on a cut stone foundation, and its west-facing main facade is visually divided into thirds by piers rising from the beltcourse above the first story. A terra cotta nameplate bearing the legend "STOCK HOUSE" is centered immediately beneath this beltcourse. As constructed, this storage building had no windows whatsoever on its primary facade; a line of singly-spaced fixed casement windows has been installed across the first story facade in order to permit human occupation. The second to seventh stories were historically punctuated by false windows, consisting of slightly recessed panels within the brick facade. The false windows of the second to fifth stories are set within a recessed brick frame between the projecting piers; there are three such windows at each floor within the center bay and two at each floor within the flanking bays. A belt course separates the sixth floor from those below; this floor also has false windows, with five across the center bay and four on each of the outlying bays. Three false openings, one in each bay, at each of the fourth, fifth and sixth floors have been partially replaced with glazed openings in order to allow for human occupancy. A narrow pressed-metal cornice with dentils crosses the facade above the sixth floor, and from this cornice rises low brick parapets to either side of the seventh floor penthouse, which is aligned with the central bay below. This feature has three pairs of false window openings; one of the elements within the central pair of which is filled with four-over-four double-hung glazing, which may date from the historic period. A smaller version of the building's cornice extends across the top of this feature, which terminates in a brick parapet with projecting central element. The building's north-facing facade is largely obscured by adjoining buildings; the south-facing facade, however, is highly visible to passerby. The three-bay division and the false windows are continued across this facade; three industrial-style windows have been introduced into the central bay of the upper floors, and a fire escape has been removed and its doorways infilled with brick.

Brew House: 1890

The Brew House is one of the most intact buildings in the Schlitz complex and has a significant interior space. The six-story structure was designed by the Chicago architectural firm of Wolf & Lehle in 1890 and it housed all of the brewing equipment for the complex and was a centerpiece of the brewery's popular tours. The building's primary, north-facing facade is divided visually into three vertical elements: a square corner tower culminating in a pyramidal roof at the west corner, a similar corner tower with a front-gabled roof at the east corner, and a central portion capped by a side-gabled roof behind a low brick parapet. The central portion is divided into three bays by wide pilaster strips and is symmetrical in design. The central portion commences with a pair of elaborately-decorated solid wood pedestrian doors set under a semicircular transom light, which is framed in stone. This feature appears to be entirely original to the building. Two pairs of tall, narrow multi-light double-hung windows with three-light transoms framed in stone flank this entry; although their transoms are aligned, the easternmost window is taller than the other due to the fact that the site slopes markedly downward to the east. This first floor of the center portion is divided from the upper reaches of the building by a narrow stone stringcourse, on which the second-story windows rest. The second and third stories of this central portion consist of three multi-light double-hung windows set in a shared surround at the center bay and a pair of wider but similar windows in separate surrounds to either side. Rectangular spandrels ornamented with panels of recessed brick divide each window from the one above. This fenestration pattern is repeated at the fourth floor, with the exception that the flanking windows are somewhat taller and the central bay's tripartite window has a semicircular arch. All of these windows were replaced at an undetermined date prior to 1982; the multi-light windows are unobtrusive and closely match the originals in terms of exterior appearance. A narrow stone string course separates these floors from the fifth floor, which has three short round-headed windows at the center bay and four rectangular windows of the same height to either side. A nameplate reading "BREWHOUSE 1890" is set into the parapet projecting from the fifth floor, and the end of the pyramidal skylight that spans the depth of the building is visible above.

The west (right) corner tower has identical features on both its north-facing and west-facing facades; this portion of the building's west facade is more visible and more accessible than the remainder of that facade, which is predominately obscured by adjoining buildings. Wide multi-light semicircular windows grouped under a single stone arch that rests on tall banded stone piers form the first story. The lower stringcourse noted previously is continued unbroken around the corner. The second, third and fourth stories above are marked by triple double-hung multi-light sash in a shared surround and are separated from each other by the rectangular recessed panels mentioned previously. All of these windows are in their original frames, and the sash appears to be either original to the building or to date from the period of historic significance. The fifth floor on either facade of the tower has a large semicircular window under a stone arch; these windows are intact but are at present obscured by protective paneling. The tower extends beyond the central portion into a sixth story, which is marked by round-headed windows under corbeled rusticated stone arches. There are four such windows on the west-facing facade and three across the east. The tower terminates in a pyramidal roof with a copper cornice, ridges, and finial.

The east tower bears several similarities to the west tower, particularly with regard to its fenestration. This tower commences at grade level ( which is several feet lower than at the west tower) with a wide, elaborately ornamented wood plank door under a semicircular stone arch; this doorway having been used to bring horse-drawn wagons into the Brew House. The belt course above this entry is identical to but several feet lower than the one that spans the balance of the facade, the second through fourth story fenestration is similar to but not identical with that of the other tower for the same reason, while the fifth story fenestration is identical. Four rectangular windows arrayed under straight stone transoms surmounted by round-headed stone arches mark the tower's sixth story. The terminating gable end above contains a single oculus window that is centered under the gable's stone finial.

Unlike many of the complex's other buildings, which have undergone adaptive reuse as office and school spaces, most of the interior of the brewhouse remains largely intact. With the exception of the west tower and the northerly portion of the building south of this tower, which houses offices, the bulk of the interior of the brewhouse consists of a multi-story open space dominated by elaborate wrought-iron railings and staircases, which are flanked at each story by large spaces formerly dedicated to brew kettles and other equipment. This interior well is lit by a very large skylight. The wrought iron railings that encircle this well at each level are also continued across the well on the several pedestrian staircases that span it. These extremely elaborate railings reflect the building's heavy tourist traffic, and incorporate such details as hops flowers in the railings and beer barrels as finials on the newel posts. Even structural posts made of riveted channel beams receive an unusual level of ornamentation, including molded bases with the hops flower motif and stylized capitals. Almost all of the brewing equipment has now been removed, but the original system of railings, staircases and other ornamentation is still highly intact.

Technology Building: 1948

According to historic photographs, the Brew House was originally adjoined on the east by a power plant building that occupied a narrow plot of land between the Brew House's east wall and the historic Second Street right-of-way. In 1948, however, this power plant building was replaced by the present Modern Movement style Technology Building, which occupies the earlier building's unusual position on this narrow strip of land. The north-facing main facade of the new building is three-bays-wide and five-stories-tall and it is adjoined to the north-facing facade of the Brew House by an equally narrow six-story ell that has no fenestration and no features with the exception of a narrow four-story-tall portion of the earlier power plant's north-facing facade, which has been incorporated into the wall surface of the ell.

The Technology Building's main north-facing facade and its much longer east-facing Second Street side elevation are both dominated by the use of broad full-height vertical brick piers that project out beyond the plane of the windows, which gives the building a marked vertical emphasis. The twenty-eight-bay-wide east-facing Second Street side elevation of the building consists of a five-story-tall ten-bay-wide north portion, a seven to eight-story-tall eleven-bay-wide center portion, and a four-story-tall seven-bay-wide south portion. These height variations stem from the fact the center and south portions of the building originally functioned as additional brewing space; although the consistent visual character of the structure tends to reinforce its perceptual continuity. The windows in the bays between each set of piers on the building's north-facing facade and in the east-facing side elevation's north and south portions are separated from each other vertically by plain concrete spandrels and each window is divided into four equal-sized horizontal lights. Window treatment in the east-facing side elevation's center portion differs, however, each bay consisting of a continuous vertical window strip that is comprised of sixteen three-light windows.

A pedestrian entry is inset into the building's north-facing facade at the base of its westernmost bay, and two more are set into the northernmost bay of the east elevation's center portion and the base of the southernmost bay of its south portion. In addition, a large loading door opening occupies the base of the three right-hand bays of the east elevation's south portion.

Power Plant: 1947

This International Style-influenced Modern Movement style industrial building has also not undergone adaptive reuse and is largely intact to the date of its construction. The structure is visually dominated by several wide glazed window bands and by its two intact smokestacks, which rise nearly one hundred feet above the highest portion of the roofline. The building may be visually divided into thirds, with the northernmost third standing three stories in height, the middle third standing five stories in height, and the southernmost third reaching approximately six stories. The northern two-thirds of the building are dominated and visually unified by the use of broad horizontal bands of multi-light fixed windows that are further emphasized by the use of slightly protruding horizontal stone sills and lintels. The southern third of the building inverts this pattern, incorporating a wide vertical glazed window band that extends the full height of this portion of the building and which is further emphasized by its pronounced concrete frame. The interior of the structure is largely intact and is entirely occupied by power generation equipment.

Bottle House A: 1899

This building is the oldest extant bottling facility in the Schlitz complex, and appears to have been the first one of brick construction built for this purpose. The building's primary facade faces west and is of a symmetrical design, 15-bays-wide, with an elaborate central bay, four tall flanking bays, and slightly protruding corner bays at either end. The building's predominating cream bricks are interspersed with dark-colored bricks; it is not clear whether these bricks were intentionally left untouched when the building was cleaned in the mid-1980s, or if they represent bricks that did not clean well, as appeared to be the case on some portions of the Stock and Malt House, as discussed previously. The entire building is two stories in height, with the exception of the central bay, which is crowned with a small third story section. Most of the original windows in the structure have been replaced with single-light glazing, and most of the arched transom spaces have been replaced with opaque panels, but in many cases the original sash and framing is still evident. The central bay commences above the foundation level with a three-part flat-arched window with transoms at the first floor; and a three-part window under a semicircular transom at the second story. Both transoms are opaque at this time, and although the windows has been replaced with one-light glazing, the second story transom retains its original, modestly ornamented sash. An elaborately-ornamented, rectangular terra cotta datestone occupies the spandrel between the first and second story windows, and matching triangular ornamental panels are inset to either side of the second story window above the tooled stone arched hood mold. A pair of narrow cornices demarcates the parapet at this bay, and the tooled stone band between these cornices bears the ghost of the painted letters spelling "Bottling Works." The piers demarcating this central bay extend upward beyond the parapet cornice and frame three four-over-four light double-hung sash, which appear to be original to the building or to date from within the period of historic significance. Another smooth tooled stone band crosses the facade immediately above these windows and are surmounted by a molded cornice. A stepped parapet topped with a similar molded coping rises above these features, and bears three plaques, the center plaque bearing the Schlitz belted globe logo and the flanking plaques having ornamental designs.

The two bays to either side of this central bay share a slightly raised parapet which is aligned with the level of the "Bottling Works" portion of the central bay. The second story of these two bays each have two narrow windows under round-headed brick arches. Below these windows are large, single tripartite windows similar to those found on the first floor in the central bay; these flanking windows, however, have segmental-arched transoms. The first story of the next outlying bays have paired rectangular windows that are narrower but in all other respects similar to those found at the central bay; the second-story windows have paired windows in a square surround under semicircular transoms surmounted by voussoirs of brick and smooth-tooled stone. The parapet over this bay extends slightly higher than on the previously-described bay and bears a narrow rectangular plaque upon it which also bears the belted globe emblem. Both of these bays are flanked by four identical and less ornamented bays, each lacking the parapet detailing and having three round-headed windows in plain surrounds at the second floor and a three-part window in a single surround under a segmented arched transom composition at the first floor. The corner bays, which are duplicated on both ends of the building's corners, extend slightly forward from the plane of the balance of the building, and have raised parapets with identical narrow rectangular plaques bearing the Schlitz logo. Each facade of these corner elements also has a pair of windows at each floor, the lower floor having tall rectangular glazing with intact transoms and the upper floor having a pair of windows separated by a narrow brick mullion and surmounted by quarter-arc transoms, which are incorporated under a brick and stone arched hood mold. The side and rear facades of the building have a generally regular fenestration pattern of small windows and no other notable features.

Bottle House B: 1907

The Astylistic Utilitarian Form second bottle house is located to the rear (east) of Bottle House A and, is of a generally utilitarian design and little documented in the historic record. The building has two stories and generally singly spaced one-light windows around all of its facades; as with many of the other building in the complex, replacement of the earlier industrial windows was necessary in order to permit any non-industrial adaptive reuse. The first-floor windows are slightly wider across the primary north-facing facade , which reflects the fact that these openings functioned as truck loading bays. The building's pedestrian entry at this facade is marked by a projecting parapet above the entryway that bears the Schlitz name on a terra cotta plaque; the entry itself has been substantially altered.

Keg House: 1915

The Astylistic Utilitarian Form Keg House was an exclusively industrial building, and its original fenestration pattern was almost entirely altered as a result of its reuse.

Stable: 1896

Although built to house the brewery's horse-drawn transportation stock, the Stable features some of the most elaborate ornamentation in the complex. Like the Brew House, this building stands on a site that slopes markedly from west to east; like Bottle House A, the two-story stable building replaced an earlier frame structure and was designed with a symmetrical seven-bay-wide primary south-facing facade that features a dominant central bay, more modest flanking bays and slightly projecting corner bays. The central bay has triptych fenestration, with tripled windows in a shared surround flanked by a single sash of the same height. The second-story central window has a large semicircular transom; like most of the other buildings that were not designed primarily for human occupation, the original windows have been replaced with a relatively unobtrusive modern sash having a multi-light appearance. This central bay is particularly notable for its terra cotta ornamentation, which includes a plaque between the first and second-story windows, two above the second-story windows, and one large plaque across the parapet above the central bay. The first story plaque bears the word 'STABLE" and is ornamented with a scroll, a whip, a horseshoe and a horseshoe nail. The plaques above the second story feature horses' heads in full relief against a background pattern, while the top plaque places the name of the company on either side of a large representation of the belted globe logo. These ornamental features are entirely intact and appear to be in excellent condition. The four flanking bays on either side of the central bay each have two segmental-arched windows at the second floor and a triple window group in a shared segmental-arched surround at the first-floor level. The only exception to this pattern is the first floor of the westernmost of these bays; at this location a wide arched pedestrian doorway marks the former horse driveway into the building. The corner bays, finally, have simple parapets and tripled windows in a shared surround at both the upper and lower stories. A similar fenestration pattern is carried across the east facade of the building, while the north and west facades have more utilitarian features. This building was also designed by Chicago architect Louis Lehle.