urbanSTL

white rabbit wrote:

TGE-ATW wrote:Also, there is a website, www.undergroundozarks.com where people obsess over getting into the various cave systems under St. Louis (with some surprising success).

That's my site. And yes, you'd be really surprised if you knew a couple of the things we've found in St. Louis on the brewery cave front.

southcitygent wrote:This may not be the exact same thing, but there is a guy in Carondelet who lives on Pennsylvania who built a bar into a cave that is accessed from his basement. Very cool and kind of creepy.

southcitygent wrote:I don't know too much about it, the home was on the Carondelet house tour 2 years ago. The cavern was about the size of a normal basement, however between the bar, fog machine and neon lighting the context of the room was hard to grasp. Just another example of the great, eclectic and affordable home options available in our often times overlook neighborhood.

TGE-ATW wrote:I can't figure out why no entrepreneur has tried to open a bar in one of the old barrel vaults.

urban_dilettante wrote:PLEASE no lofts in lemp. maybe schlafly could buy it and turn it into an awesomer tap room. or a venue. or cassilly into a city museum. or an actual museum. please just something that allows the general public to enjoy its history and architecture. lofts would all but eliminate the history and most of the architecture (inside).

A thirst for new condos

Historic Boston breweries are on tap to be revived as centers of modern living



By Ron DePasquale, Globe Correspondent | March 18, 2007



A century ago, Boston's Stony Brook Valley and the artesian wells under Mission Hill supported two dozen breweries, which churned out such colorful quaffs as Vienna Old Time Lager, Elmo Ale -- named for a brewer's son -- and, with the Olde Towne Team's championship 1912 season, Red Sox Beer and Pennant Ale.



Only a handful of the breweries, however, lasted after Prohibition and most of the sturdy, soaring buildings were eventually torn down. But three Gilded Age survivors on or near Heath Street are being revived after a long dormancy and are set to become hubs of modern living.



The first to be ready are the lofts at the American Brewery Co. building on Heath Street, with its granite, brick, and terra cotta stonework and twin archways where horse-drawn wagons brought water and barley in and lager out.



"It's not only historically significant, it's a beautiful building with dramatic open spaces, large windows and a courtyard, which will make it an interesting refuge from the city," said Tom Niles , executive vice president of development for Procaccianti Group of Cranston, R.I., which along with Commonwealth Capital Ventures of Waltham, is redeveloping the property.



Founded by James W. Kenney , an Irish immigrant who owned several other breweries in the neighborhood, the American Brewery Co. used gravity instead of electricity to power a top-down brewing process, said Michael Reiskind of the Jamaica Plain Historical Society. Barley was hoisted to the top of the main building and stored in cedar-lined rooms before being cooked, or malted. On the next floor down, the malted barley was mashed -- mixed with water and cooked -- and then the cooked mash was filtered from the liquid, making wort.



On the lower levels, ingredients such as hops and yeast would be added, as the wort was processed more. The fermenting beer was then stored on the bottom floors.



In addition to renovating the existing historic brewery facilities designed by Cambridge architect Frederick Footman in 1891, the developers added a modern glass-wrapped building. The two connect via a bridge and look out over the courtyard.



When finished next month the American Brewery Lofts will boast 79 lofts over five floors. One unit will be in the old brewmaster's quarters nestled under a turret, where even today, despite decades of neglect, the plaster detailing over arched windows remains intact. The unit will be listed for sale for at least $500,000.



The brewhouse will include a three-bedroom penthouse, and three tri-level cedar-framed penthouse units. The new building will include two "townhomes" designed by the Boston architecture firm Elkus|Manfredi Architects Ltd. that will feature patios and separate entrances and will list for $600,000. Prices in general start at $306,900 (including a parking space), and 36 units will list for less than $400,000.Continued...



"My first time in the building, I couldn't believe these were here," Niles said. "I love how they point out that there was so much strength that went into an industrial structure like this." The thick walls, designed to keep the temperature at around 58 degrees year-round, proved a challenge for creating new windows, Niles said. The bricks had to be cut and the new windows had to be built piecemeal, to prevent the self-supporting bricks from collapsing

dweebe wrote:I had dinner last night with someone who actually has offices in the Lemp complex.



He says the whole project is dead and all proposals pulled. No explanation, just a note from the owners saying business as usual for all tenants.