Flint Brewing Company Building facts for kids
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Flint Brewing Company
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Formerly listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Flint Brewing Company Building in 1915, after conversion to a church
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| Location | 2001 S. Saginaw St., Flint, Michigan |
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| Area | 3.8 acres (1.5 ha) |
| Built | 1896 |
| Architectural style | Italianate, Commercial Italianate |
| Demolished | 1992 |
| NRHP reference No. | 80001854 |
Quick facts for kids Significant dates |
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| Added to NRHP | April 10, 1980 |
| Removed from NRHP | July 1, 2020 |
The Flint Brewing Company Building was a historic building in Flint, Michigan. It was located at 2001 South Saginaw Street. This building was once a busy brewery. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. This list recognizes important historical places in the United States. The building was removed from the list in 2020.
Contents
Building's Story: From Brewery to Church and Back
Early Days as a Brewery
In 1896, three men named William Willdanger, Robert Wisler, and Adam Ketterman started the Flint Brewing Company. They built this large building on Saginaw Street to make beer. They worked hard to advertise their products. Soon, they became very popular in the local area.
Changes During Prohibition
The brewery was successful for many years. However, in 1915, Genesee County decided to make it illegal to sell alcohol. This period is known as Prohibition. Because of this new law, the Flint Brewing Company had to close down. The building was then empty for a short time.
Later in 1915, a group of Methodists bought the building. They changed it into a church called Lakeside Methodist Episcopal Church. This showed how much the community's focus had changed. But the church did not stay there for long. After a few years, a trucking company started using the building as a warehouse.
New Businesses and a Return to Brewing
By the mid-1920s, other companies also moved into the building. These included the Acetylene Welding Company and the Boyd Sign Factory. In 1928, the Flint Casket and Woodwork Company also began using the space.
In the early 1930s, the laws changed again. Genesee County allowed alcohol sales once more. In 1933, a new company called Flint Hill Brewing Company bought the building. They fixed it up to start making beer again. This new brewery was also very successful.
Later Owners and Final Years
In 1939, the White Seal Brewing Company bought Flint Hill Brewing Company. Then, in 1949, Valley Brewing took over White Seal. Valley Brewing used the building until 1953. Around this time, larger companies began to dominate the beer market. This made it hard for smaller local breweries to compete.
The building was empty again until 1965. That year, a company called Flint Automation Machinery Manufacturers moved in. They left in 1971, and the building became vacant once more. In 1980, local developers bought the property. Sadly, the building later caught fire. What was left of it was taken down in 1992.
What the Building Looked Like
The Flint Brewing Company Building was made of brick. It had three different parts, ranging from two to four stories tall.
The tallest part was four stories high. It had different types of windows on each floor. Some windows were arched, and others were rectangular. The building also had decorative brick and stone details. These details were placed above the first and third floors. There was also a fancy brick design at the very top.
The middle part of the building was three stories high. It had arched windows on its first and second floors. The top floor had rounded-arch windows. This section also had similar brick and stone decorations.
The smallest part of the brewery was two stories tall. It had rectangular windows on both floors. This section also continued the decorative brickwork seen on the rest of the building.
Over the years, three more sections were added to the building. These additions were built in 1928, 1934, and 1944. They were not as tall as the original 1898 building.
