Drinkable HistoryWalking Tour

Peter Hammerstien saloon circa 1905Peter Hammerstien saloon circa 1905

Tour stops1) P D & E RR / I C RR

2) Chero Cola

3) Weber Hall / Carpenter Hall

4) Old Brewery

5) Fulton Ave Brewery / Sterling Brewery

6) Evansville Furniture Co

7) Indiana Stove Works / Craddock Finishing

8) Heyns Furniture / Tin Man

Tour Map

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Drinking background• Germans like beer• Early beer small-scale, much like home brew• “Old Brewery” first large operation• Smaller breweries gave way to larger ones

– F W Cook Brewing Co– Evansville Brewing Association - comprised of Fulton Ave

Brewery, Evansville Brewing Co, and Hartmetz Brewery• Survived Prohibition by making other products• Notable brands included Cook’s Goldblume and Sterling• Last major brewery in Evansville closed 1988• Evansville Brewing Company revived beer making in

Evansville, but the venture failed 1997• Tin Man brings large scale brewing back to the city

Illinois Central RR• Peoria Decatur & Evansville (P D & E) RR reached town

1881• Later Illinois Central (I C) RR • Freight Depot rebuilt circa 1916• Abandoned 1980s, repair shops and turn table razed• Repurposed for Case Engineering

I C RR freight station 1929

Chero-Cola

• New bottling factory built 1922• Distributed Chero-Cola and later Nehi• Becomes Double Cola plant c1950s, expands• Now Lensing Wholesale

Chero Cola fleet 1922

Weber Hall / Carpenter Hall

• Weber’s Hall built c1890• Weber’s Malt House on

Fourth Ave, also known as Franklin Brewery, made malt extract

• Carpenters’ union purchases building 1922 and becomes known as Carpenter’s Hall

• 1940 addition in rear Headquarters of Local 90Carpenter Union 1932

Old Brewery• Brothers-in-law Rice & Kroener

establish first brewery in area 1837

• Situated along the Wabash & Erie Canal (Indiana St)

• Became known as “Old Brewery” when Rice split off to form City Brewery (later FW Cook) in 1853

• Ran simultaneously to Fulton Ave Brewery across street 1880s

• Newer factory saw the old one out of business

• Closed 1884 and razed 1886

Old Brewery complex from the 1880 aerial map

Fulton Ave Brewery

• Built 1881 across from Old Brewery

• Large collapse 1890 saw the iconic stock house erected (corner building)

• Becomes part of Evansville Brewing Association (EBA) 1894

• Bottling plant completed 1914• New offices built 1955• Razed 1999. Wagon shed

(c1890) and grain dryer/storage (c1900) still standing

Above – Original Fulton Ave Brewery building c1888Below – 1969 view of the corner of Pennsylvania and Fulton

Fulton Ave Brewery

Aerial view of the brewery area around 1940

Evansville Furniture Co• Evansville Furniture Co dates back to c1870• Present structure built 1879• Large additions added around 1900 and 1920• Becomes Universal Furniture 1936• Big fire in February 1975 claimed half of the factory• More recently antique mall and now offices

Evansville Furniture Co1931

Indiana Stove Works• Founded in 1881 by stove makers Schrader, Fischer & Boehne at

the southeast corner of Illinois and Seventh

• Incorporated 1887 as Indiana Stove Works

• Best known for making Darling Stoves

• Expanded over the years and eventually occupied the entire block

• 1936 becomes

Craddock Furniture

• Large fire Feb 1972

Indiana Stove Works c1900

Franklin House / Heyns Furniture

• Franklin House boarding house and saloon built c1870• William Heyns establishes his furniture company around

1889• Business grows and 1901 expands building (see next

slide). Ornamentation at top added into the brickwork• A variety of uses after the furniture company closes

c1930, but primarily boarding/hotel and a restaurant/saloon

• Fire 1961 claims the left third• Miscellaneous uses including liquor store and used

furniture company• Tin Man finishes an earlier restoration in 2012. Cheers!

Heyns Block

Heyns Furniture Co 1901

Heyns Furniturec1870 Franklin St House built as boarding house / saloon

1886 Heyns takes ownership

c1889 Heyns & Co established as a furniture company

1901 Building enlarged as Heyns Block

1930s-1940s Spillman’s Restaurant and Hotel

1950s Bud Bays Indian Sales and Service (motorcycles) / Irwin Liquors / West Side Swap Shop

1961 Left (east) section is destroyed by fire

1960s-1970s Blue Bell Liquors / Rite Deal Furniture

1970s-1980s Al Hocker / Rogers Used Furniture Store

1990s West Side Consignment & Resale Shoppe

2000s Tri-State Printing

2008 Remodeled for restaurant, stalled

2012 Renovated for Tin Man Brewing Co

Other breweries - F W Cook Brewing Co

• Established as City Brewery 1853• 1885 renamed F W Cook Brewing Co• Closed 1957• Razed 1965 for Civic Center Left – F W Cook Brewing Co c1890

Mid – Brewery in 1947Right – Demolition 1965

Other Breweries - Evansville Brewing Association (EBA)

• Hartmetz Brewery– Opened 1863– Located on Harmony

Way in West Heights – Closed c1910– Razed c1940

• Evansville Brewery– Opened 1891– Brewing ceased 1914– Various operations– Brucken’s since 1969

Top – Hartmetz Brewery c1900Bottom – Evansville Brewery 2010

Other Bottling Works• Bernardin Bottle Cap Co

– Founded 1880s– One of last industries to leave

downtown– Opened plant 1949 at foot of

Mt Auburn (now Silgan)

• Coca Cola Bottling– Established locally 1903– Existing structure rebuilt

around 1926 with later additions

– Recently repurposed as office space

Top – Bernardin Bottle Works 1948Bottom – Coca Cola Bottling on Pennsylvania St