Pilsener on the Bayou

Houston has a historical obsession with beer which persists throughout our city today. As of 2019, a whopping 64 craft breweries call Houston home.

Houston & Beer, Sitting in a Tree

Soon, we’ll have more breweries than mattress stores.

At the turn of the 20th century beer was a lucrative and extremely profitable industry. We can still see some evidence of this industry today by visiting the Magnolia Ballroom @ 715 Franklin. This ballroom is one of two surviving structures of the Magnolia Brewery, AKA, the Houston Ice and Brewing Company. The extant building was once part of a massive 20-acre compound that spanned across both banks of the Buffalo Bayou.

Another major beer player at the time, American Brewing Company, was located further down the bayou.

Adolphus Busch

Adolphus Busch (1839 – 1913) immigrated to the United States at the age of 18. He touched down in St. Louis, Missouri, which was quickly becoming a “mecca” for German immigrants. They brought their culture with them and the beer industry quickly began to take hold in the city.

After serving for the Union Army in the Civil War, Adolphus returned home and began working for his wife’s (Lilly Anheuser) family brewing company. He eventually took over, renaming the company to Anheuser-Busch in 1879.

American Brewing Association

Although based in St. Louis, Anheuser-Busch needed strategic locations around the country for proper distribution. Several of these were located in Texas, due to its proximity to Mexico and booming railroad industry. One of these such distribution centers was located in Houston.

American Brewing Association was chartered in April 1893 with ground-breaking for the Houston warehouse occurring later the same year. The facility began production in 1894 at the NW corner of Railroad and 2nd Streets. 1918 just two years before Prohibition swept the country.

Location

Today, the building is no longer standing and there’s very little surface-level evidence remaining. Also, neither “Railroad” nor “2nd” street exist anymore and only one of them was actually a street.

“Railroad” referred to the railroad you see in the clipping below labeled “Allen,” which is intersected by 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Streets. American Brewing Co. is located at the corner of Railroad (Allen) and 2nd Street.

Today, this area has changed significantly. As you can see below, the University of Houston Downtown campus now takes up the entire two blocks.

Also, 1st street has been absorbed into N. Main Street while 2nd, and 3rd streets no longer exist. However, Girard Street still remains and so does the “Allen” railroad, which is partially covered by the building.

Below, you can see the lower section of the Sanborn map clipping. This is to further illustrate Allen, 3rd, and 2nd Streets with a tiny corner of 1st street visible in the upper-right.

Here is a roughly labelled Google Maps screenshot to piece it all together:

The next time you’re at the UHD campus, close your eyes and imagine that you’re standing right where Adolphus Busch pumped out yummy pale lagers from 1893 to 1918. Or not, people may look at you funny.