Lemp Brewery, Early May, 2020

Jason Gray’s photographs that he took for my series of articles about the Lemp Brewery for St. Louis Magazine are of such higher quality than mine that it almost seems pointless for me to take any more pictures of the massive complex.

But I was in the neighborhood recently near sunset, and the temptation was too great. It is easily one of my favorite places in the world that I have been given the opportunity to explore, and it is truly an amazing place.

Anheuser-Busch used to have grain elevators on site like this, but they were demolished several decades ago. These are the last examples in St. Louis that I know of.

The outline of the rooftops of the old fermenting and lagering houses stand out against the evening sky.

The top floor of the buildings were added by the International Shoe Company; that is why they are not architecturally congruous with the rest of the floors below them.

Something that very few people know is the smokestack was once slightly taller, more similar in appearance to the three stacks over at Anheuser-Busch.

The New Stock House originally did not have any of those rectangular windows; it must have been quite the sight completely filled with beer before it was bottled next door.

2 Comments Add yours

  1. Charlie Long says:

    Thanks for this…never seem to lose the fascination with the Lemp Brewery. I can’t get over the construction – those buildings and silos still look rock solid.

    1. Chris Naffziger says:

      Thank you! Stay tuned for some really exciting original research I’ve discovered for a series of articles at St. Louis Magazine coming this July. In the meantime, I hope you check out Jason’s amazing photos at St. Louis Magazine that went along with my series about the construction of those stout buildings.

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