Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Schmidt Brewery History


I took a photo of this sign last August and wondered why it was allowed to remain in place for so many years in its deteriorating condition.  Originally it was the former Schmidt Brewery sign with two large side panels, but Schmidt closed several decades ago and the sign stood at Jefferson Avenue and West 7th Street for more than 60 years as part of the historic brewery complex.  It had been used to advertise August Schell Brewing Company's Grain Belt beers to which an anti-billboard group recently objected.  To my surprise the entire story of its past and its future was recently covered in our local neighborhood newspaper, The Highland Villager. Apparently after meeting several legal considerations, the giant sign will be restored and will now advertise businesses that occupy properties in the Schmidt historic district.
Linking to Signs, signs

8 comments:

  1. I wondered if there were some legal issues involved when I started reading your comments. That's usually the case.

    ReplyDelete
  2. That's very interesting. I do remember Grain Belt beer.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hopefully the restoration goes smoothly.

    ReplyDelete
  4. After a while signs like this become part of the community. For some it could be a welcome sign that your are close to home. To others a marker when giving directions. Some just like the feeling they get remembering the 'old' days. Glad its going to remain in place.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It's a ghost bottle!

    ReplyDelete
  6. How interesting. Glad they are going to restore it.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I love these kinds of signs!

    ReplyDelete
  8. We have a local sign ordinance that doesn't permit "historic" signs to be taken down and it's a mystery to me how something like a new looking Chevron sign becomes "historic." The way our ordinance operates is confusing at best.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for visiting my blog; I appreciate it! Come back often!!