The historic Tennessee Brewery in Memphis was built in 1890. During its peak production years, it churned out 250,000 barrels of beer per day, making it the largest brewery in the South. It ceased production in 1954, and it became home to a scrap metal company until 1981. It was saved from the wrecking ball by the current owner in 1999. Despite his many efforts to revitalize the building, it has remained empty and he decided it would be demolished at the end of the summer if he hadn't found a buyer for it by that time. In order to help sell the building, a group of local businessmen decided to showcase its potential by opening a beer garden in the building's courtyard for six weeks. The Brewery Untapped features food trucks, acoustic musical acts and fundraisers for local nonprofits, and has attracted tons of patrons. You can read more about the efforts to save the building here. For more really interesting details about the Tennessee Brewery's past, I highly recommend this article from the Commercial Appeal.
Here are some photos from our afternoon at the Tennessee Brewery:
Isn't the white-washed brick lovely? The windows and arches are really incredible as well.
We have been so inspired by the efforts to save the Tennessee Brewery, and we hope this neat old building's story has a happy ending. Memphis has so many abandoned architectural gems. It would be such a big win for our city if they were able to save this building and turn it into a sustainable investment.
