Peacock Brewery facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Peacock Brewery
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 Location in Illinois
Location in the United States
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| Location | 200 Prairie and 500 North Madison Streets, Rockford, Illinois |
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| Architect | Widmann, Walsh & Boisscher |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival (house), Classical Revival (brewhouse) |
| NRHP reference No. | 11000851 |
| Added to NRHP | November 22, 2011 |
The Peacock Brewery is a historic building in Rockford, Illinois. It was also known as the Rockford Brewing Company and the Rock River Brewing Company. For nearly seventy years, it was the biggest brewery in Rockford. The brewery is located on the east side of the Rock River.
Contents
How the Brewery Started
Jonathan Peacock came to Rockford, Illinois in 1849. He was an immigrant from England. Jonathan had learned how to brew beer in England. He also worked at a brewery in Chicago.
He bought a house on Madison Street and started making beer in his backyard. Jonathan ground malt in a coffee grinder. He brewed the beer in large pots. Then, he delivered his beer to customers using a wheelbarrow. When the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad reached Rockford in 1852, more people moved to the area. Jonathan was ready to serve them.
By 1857, Jonathan's business had grown a lot. He could no longer brew beer from his home. He built a new brewhouse right next door to meet the demand. In the summer of 1894, a fire damaged the brewhouse. Jonathan quickly rebuilt it. He passed away two years later.
His sons, Frank and Edward, took over the business. Under their leadership, the brewery made over 20,000 barrels of beer each year. Their most popular beer was Nikolob. Both sons died in 1899. The brewery was then sold to John V. Petritz, an immigrant from Croatia.
The 1900s at the Brewery
John Petritz had moved to Montana in the 1880s. He made a lot of money in the liquor business. When he decided to move back east, he wanted to buy a big brewery. He bought the Peacock Brewery.
He hired architects Widmann, Walsh & Boisscher from St. Louis. They designed a large, modern brewhouse. This new building replaced the older one. It cost $100,000 and had the newest technology. It could produce up to 75,000 barrels of beer a year. Petritz changed the company's name to the Rockford Brewing Company. He also bought a bottling company in 1900. He replaced it with a newer building in 1902.
Challenges During Prohibition
In the early 1900s, John Petritz faced difficulties with new laws about selling alcohol. In 1917, Winnebago County passed a law called Prohibition. This law made it illegal to make or sell alcohol.
Petritz continued to produce beer at his brewery. Because of this, the Rockford Brewing Company faced legal challenges. The license for the Rockford Brewing Company ended in 1918 and was not renewed. This meant the brewery had to stop making beer.
The Rock River Brewing Company
After Prohibition ended, John Petritz used the old brewery buildings for a new warehousing business. His son, John G. Petritz, tried to restart the brewery. The beer was made in Chicago and bottled in the Rockford buildings.
In 1937, one of his partners, Samuel Hirsch, bought out the other partners. He changed the name to the Rock River Brewing Company. This company produced beers like Coronet Old Vat and Grand Prize. However, the brewery finally closed down in 1945.
The Brewery in the 2000s
On November 22, 2011, the brewery buildings were recognized as important historic places. The National Park Service added them to the National Register of Historic Places. It was even featured as the "property of the week."
Today, the building is being fixed up. It plans to reopen as Rockford Brewery in spring 2014. The Ice Cellar Bar is one of three event rooms. It has been updated with a special draft system for drinks. It also has cool LED lights that can change colors. These lights are set into the bar's base.
The lights overhead are also LED. They shine through a surface that looks like the blocks of ice once stored in this room. These overhead lights are made from old beer and liquor bottles. Many of these bottles were made right here originally. The bar's copper lining is the same aged color as the copper vats used for brewing. The beams and bar supports are made of raw steel, just like in the old industrial days.
