Schlitz Brewery-Tied House, 3456 S. Western Ave. (Former)

“Together the stable and tied house one block south at 11400-404 S. Front Ave. are the only surviving commercial buildings from “Schlitz Row.” (See # 8 regarding community context and history.) Architectural ornamentation is confined to the front (east) elevation facing Front Ave., as the side and rear elevations are common brick and mostly obscured.”

“Huck deserves special mention in that he introduced Chicago in 1847 to German-style lager at his brewery and attached beer garden at Chicago Ave. and Rush St. Huck was one of several immigrants with knowledge of German brewing methods who started brewing lagers in cities with large German populations, including Philadelphia, Cincinnati, and Milwaukee.”

“(bottom left) and the (former) Schlitz Brewery Stable Building at 11314 S. Front Ave. (bottom right) exemplify the Queen Anne style. Typical features of the style include a picturesque mixture of building materials, the combination of classical and medieval ornamental motifs, varied rooflines, and decorative-metal bays, turrets and cornices.”

“Schlitz’s “cereal beverage” Famo, or de-alcoholized beer, sold well only in the first years of Prohibition. After the repeal of prohibition in 1933, revised state and federal regulations of the alcohol industry prohibited breweries from owning or having financial interests in retail establishments, thus preventing the re-establishment of the tied-house system and monopolies.”

“The (former) Schlitz Brewery Tied-Houses at 3159 N. Southport Ave. exemplifies the German Renaissance Revival style of architecture. Characteristic feature of the style exhibited by the building include its tapestry brick bond pattern, the distinctive “bonnet” roof over the oriel window, the slim vertical piers with their limestone finials, and steeply-pitched gable which in this case is rendered as a “false” extension of the parapet forming an ornamental silhouette.”

“They were mostly located on corners of commercial streets in immigrant working-class neighborhoods. The location of the Schlitz’s saloons provides no indication that the brewery catered to a specific ethnic group, focusing instead on areas with large concentration of industrial workers.”

“A dry politician named John Strange told the Milwaukee Journal that “We have German enemies across the water. We have German enemies in this country too. And the worst of all our German enemies, the most treacherous, the most menacing, are Pabst, Schlitz, Blatz and Miller.” National Prohibition passed in 1919 and remained in effect until 1933.”

“Brewing companies favored locating in neighborhoods that historically were working class, often with industrial complexes in walking distance. (It appears that no brewery-tied houses were located in Chicago’s downtown.) While many of these neighborhoods had large immigrant populations, there is no indication that brewers located their taverns to serve specific ethnic groups.”

“Transit improvement to the community were expanded throughout the 1880s and 1890s. In addition to streetcar lines on Archer Avenue and 35th Street, the area was also served by the Western Avenue streetcar which was inaugurated in 1898.”