-
(Photograph by Lisa P. Davidson) -
default (Photograph by Alexander Heilner) -
(Photograph by Lisa P. Davidson) -
default (Photograph by Alexander Heilner) -
default (Photograph by Alexander Heilner) -
default (Photograph by Alexander Heilner) -
default (Photograph by Alexander Heilner) -
default (Photograph by Alexander Heilner) -
default (Photograph by Alexander Heilner) -
(Photograph by Lisa P. Davidson) -
(Photograph by Lisa P. Davidson) -
(Lisa Pfueller Davidson and Catherine C. Lavoie)
Baltimore has a long brewing history thanks to its large German immigrant population, with twenty-nine breweries supplying beer to local taverns by 1850. Technological changes and increasing demand for beer resulted in the establishment of large-scale operations such as American Brewery. The brewery was founded in 1863 by John Frederick Wiessner, who immigrated from Germany in 1853. In 1886, Wiessner’s expansions included this eclectic building, an imposing five-story brick and stone structure with an iron frame and a central tower with a mansard roof. As was typical of the time, the interior was laid out for gravity-flow processing, with malt storage in the tower and state-of-the-art Linde ice machines for artificial refrigeration. In 2009 the building underwent an award-winning rehabilitation for use as nonprofit offices.
References
Appel, Susan K. “Artificial Refrigeration and the Architecture of 19th-century American Breweries.” IA: The Journal of the Society for Industrial Archeology 16, no. 1 (1990): 21-38.
Hawley, Monica E. “Wiessner Brewery,” HAER No. MD-25, Historic American Engineering Record, 1983. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
Kasper, Rob. Baltimore Beer: A Satisfying History of Charm City Brewing. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2012.
Leon, Walter Edward. “Weissner Brewery, Buildings 6 and 7.” HAER No. MD-25-A, Historic American Engineering Record, 1996. Prints and Photographs Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.