ca. 1932. Northwest Brewing Company, makers of Marinoff Beer, circa 1932. Photograph ordered by Pete Marinoff. The building was constructed in 1910 for Morris & Co., wholesale meats. Northwest Brewing took over the building in 1931, adding to the original structure. Silver Springs Brewery purchased the structure in 1950 for their plant. It was torn down in 1986 to make room for the "Tacoma Spur" Freeway. (filed with Argentum)
ca. 1932. Northwest Brewing Company, makers of Marinoff Beer, circa 1932. Photograph ordered by Pete Marinoff. The building was constructed in 1910 for Morris & Co., wholesale meats. Northwest Brewing took over the building in 1931, adding to the original structure. Silver Springs Brewery purchased the structure in 1950 for their plant. It was torn down in 1986 to make room for the "Tacoma Spur" Freeway. (filed with Argentum)
ca. 1939. Columbia Breweries introduced Columbia ale in 1939, the company vigorously advertised and promoted their new product, which was instantaneously accepted by the public. Columbia is proud of their two products and only uses the finest ingredients for their beer and ale production. View of Alt Heidelberg sign: "Whatever the Package" with three containers--a bottle of beer, a jumbo bottle of beer, and a can of guest beer. "So good--and good for you." (WSHS)
Brewing industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Beer--Tacoma; Advertisements--Tacoma; Signs (Notices); Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1930-1940;
Drivers pose next to their delivery trucks at the loading docks of Columbia Brewing Company. (This was a copy print made by the Richards Studio of a Marvin D. Boland photograph #B14210) Ordered by Colulmbia Breweries in 1951. TPL-6494. Previously cataloged as WO58568-4.
Brewing industry--Tacoma--1920-1930; Columbia Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Columbia Brewing Co. (Tacoma)--People;
ca. 1910. Back in the early days of the 20th century, there were not many automobiles in Tacoma and even fewer delivery vans. Bottled beer was transported in cases via a tried-and-true method--by horse and wagon. Here two patient horses pause while their driver has his photograph taken. He has removed his sturdy work coat which is laid on the covered seat. There are several cases of beer in the open wagon bed. The beer had been brewed by the Pacific Brewing & Malting Co., then one of Washington's largest breweries and located in downtown Tacoma on South 25th St., between "C" and Jefferson. State prohibition laws went into effect in January of 1916, effectively halting the thriving business. (Photograph courtesy of the William Cammarano Collection) TPL-10424
ca. 1919. Columbia Breweries. The early day bottling machine was a tedious, hand-operated contraption. A production of 500,000 bottles per year was regarded as somewhat stupendous. Wide belts connected with drive shafts located at the ceiling level operate these early assembly-line machines. Ordered by Columbia Breweries in 1951. (TNT, 1/7/1952) (This was a copy print made by the Richards Studio of a Marvin D. Boland photograph #B4392). TPL-9628. Previously cataloged as WO58568-2.
Brewing industry--Tacoma--1910-1920; Columbia Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Machinery; Assembly-line methods--Tacoma--1910-1920; Columbia Brewing Co. (Tacoma)--People; Bottles;
Employees of Columbia Breweries enjoyed their annual Christmas banquet on December 18, 1952. It was held in the Wedgwood Room in the Winthrop Hotel. View of crowded dining room; it appears that guests were enjoying roast beef dinners.
Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Banquets--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma);
ca. 1963. Studio display of Hartz Western Style Pilsener beer. Packaged in a convenient cardboard open-end container, the six-pack of canned beer was brewed by the Silver Springs Brewing Co. in Tacoma. Specifically targeting the western market, the cans and container are decorated with totem poles, deer, and tall fir trees.
ca. 1937. Party at Alt Heidelberg plant. A group of men have just finished dinner and are enjoying a glass of beer. Poster on wall: "HERE in the completely equipped chemical laboratory is controlled the famous formula of Otto Birkmaier..." Otto Birkmaier was the brewmaster for many years at Columbia Breweries and was one of the most highly regarded brewers in the country. (T.Times)
Brewing industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1930-1940;
County Treasurers and Auditors Convention. Posing outside the Columbia Brewery in bright daylight, government officials, with glasses of beer in hand, have their portrait taken with the entertainment, a woman dancer in a ruffled dress.
Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1930-1940; Government officials--Tacoma--1930-1940; Beer; Eating & drinking; Meetings--Tacoma--1930-1940;
ca. 1939. After the remodeling and rebuilding of Columbia Breweries, it would become the largest brewery north of San Francisco and west of Milwaukee. Their expansion would help the company fill the increasing demands for their Heidelberg beer and Columbia ale. View of Columbia Breweries Alt Heidelberg sign: "We are serving Alt Heidelberg. So good--and good for you." (WSHS)
Brewing industry--Tacoma--1930-1940; Beer--Tacoma; Advertisements--Tacoma; Signs (Notices); Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1930-1940;
ca. 1942. In this advertising photo, a white uniformed waitress carries a working man's lunch- a sandwich wrapped in waxed paper, a strong cup of coffee, a glass carafe of milk and a Sick's Select 6 beer, manufactured locally by Sick's Brewing Co.
Seventy five members of the brewing and allied industries gathered in Tacoma October 24, 1942 to pay tribute to Otto Birkmaier. Mr. Birkmaier was celebrating his 25th anniversary as brewmaster at Columbia Brewery, a position he had held since 1917. Some of the guests are pictured at the Saturday afternoon luncheon at the Brewery.
Brewing industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1940-1950;
Preliminary filtering operations at Columbia Breweries. Columbia's two fine beverages were pumped through this filtration process as their first step in assuring clarity. The beer would pass through one more battery of filters before bottling. Glass inserts can be seen in the left forefront to show the progress of filtering the beer and ale from the secondary fermentation tanks. Ordered by Columbia Breweries. (TNT, 1/8/1952, p.B-6)
Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Columbia Breweries was proud of their new storage cellars where thousands of barrels of Alt Heidelberg Beer and Columbia Ale were constantly in the process of being perfected. Floor upon floor, cellar after cellar, there were rows of giant tanks holding up to 800 barrels each. Ordered by Columbia Breweries. (TNT, 1/7/1952)
Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Assembly-line methods were also provided in the shipping areas of the recently expanded plant at Columbia Breweries. Cartons filled with cans of Alt Heidelberg travel along moving belts to be sealed and prepared for shipment. Ordered by Columbia Breweries.
Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Sophisticated pumps and filters have been added during the remodeling and rebuilding of the plant at Columbia Breweries begun in 1948. A workman stands by the controls. Ordered by Columbia Breweries.
Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Not all operations had been automated at the newly expanded Columbia Breweries plant on May 31, 1951. Empty Alt Heidelberg bottles were being pulled from cartons in the left foreground to add them to the automated processes. Lines of cartons moved along conveyor belts from one level to another looking like freeway entrance ramps while workmen made sure nothing caused the line to be stopped. Every working day in 1952, 20,000 cases, or nearly 500,000 bottles, entered through one entrance to the bottling department and left by another. Ordered by Columbia Breweries. (TNT, 1/8/1952, p.B-8)
Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Assembly-line methods--Tacoma--1950-1960; Bottles;
A large group of drivers was given a tour of the Columbia Breweries on July 28, 1951. Over thirty drivers from Everett participated in the tour of the plant which had undergone massive expansion and modernization. They are posed on the sidewalk before the main entrance to the plant. Columbia Breweries manufactured Alt Heidelberg and Columbia Ale, two very popular beverages.
Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Business enterprises--Tacoma; Industrial facilities--Tacoma; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Group portraits--1950-1960;
Columbia Breweries began operation in Tacoma in 1900. By 1951 Alt Heidelberg beer and Columbia Ale, produced by Columbia Breweries, were being sold in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Northern California and were two of the fastest selling brews on the market. Chief Chemist Edward Ehmke, head of the breweries technical staff, helped maintain quality as the company expanded production to meet increased demand. By 1954 they were producing 750,000 barrels of beer a year. The Columbia plant was sold to Carling Brewing Co. in 1959. It closed in 1979. (TNT, 1/8/1952, p.B-4)
Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Chemistry--Tacoma; Scientists--Tacoma; Laboratories--Tacoma; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Ehmke, Edward; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--People;
An interior view of Columbia Breweries, Inc., showing the brewing equipment. The new brew house provided for two gleaming copper kettles in a tile setting. Here batches, or brews, of hundreds of barrels each were brought to a vigorous boil several times a day under the eye of the brewmaster, Anders W. Erikson, and his assistants. (TNT, 1/7/1952)
Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Columbia Breweries, Inc., bottling department, showing up-to-date, automatic bottling equipment. Four fillers could fill an average of 265 bottles per minute each. A line of cans winds from near the ceiling to the filling machine on the left. Two men can be seen behind the two filling machines on the right that are filling stubby glass bottles. (TNT, 1/7/1952)
Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Assembly-line methods--Tacoma--1950-1960; Bottles;
One of the staff at Columbia Breweries dumps hops into one of the brew kettles. Production of Tacoma's three malt beverages, Alt Heidelberg beer, Columbia beer and Columbia ale, was under the supervision of three master brewers. Anders W. Erikson was the brewmaster at this time and was also a director of the company. Mr. Erikson served his apprenticeship under the late Otto Birkmaier who was brewmaster for many years at the brewery. Since the death of Birkmaier in 1946, Erikson had served as brewmaster. Michael Kneipe served as first assistant brewmaster while Helmut Mesamer was second assistant brewmaster. (TNT, 1/8/1952, p.B-2 & p.B-4)
Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960;
A new bottle shop was included in the expansion program at Columbia Breweries begun in 1949. Earlier legislation had required bottling works to be across the road from the brew house. Columbia Breweries' new bottle shop has expanded into new, three-story facilities along South C Street with state-of-the-art bottling lines filling 2,400 cases per hour. One hundred and fifty persons are employed in this department under the supervision of I.E. Heath, bottle shop manager, and his assistant manager, Lawrence Alnutt.
Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Seven men are enjoying Alt Heidelberg at Columbia Breweries. They each hold a bottle of the beer bottled in a short-necked "stubby" bottle. An insignia hangs on the wall behind them for Columbia Beer. In 1950 the company launched an advertising campaign featuring the theme of "Brewed in Tacoma" to emphasize the fine beer available right in the home community.
Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;
Columbia Breweries, banquet at Wedgewood Room, Winthrop Hotel. The large room is filled with men and women seated at long tables on December 19, 1951. They are enjoying Alt Heidelberg from bottles. Columbia Breweries was well known for its special lager brew.
Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Banquets--Tacoma--1950-1960; Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma);
Student Prince Plaque, Columbia Breweries, Inc., Mr. Marshall Reconosciuto. This image was seen throughout the Pacific Northwest advertising, "Heidelberg, the beer". Alt Heidelberg advertising was awarded honorable mention in national competitions. Columbia Breweries brewed Alt Heidelberg and Columbia Ale at this time. (TNT, 4/22/1941; 5/10/1949, p.29)
Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1940-1950; Advertising--Tacoma; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1940-1950;
In 1948 Columbia Breweries appointed four new officers and President Norman Davis announced that they would be going through an extensive expansion program. The expansion project was to include a 20,000 square feet two story building housing a new bottle shop, and a can beer line. View of the new canning machinery at Columbia Breweries.
Brewing industry--Tacoma--1940-1950; Machinery; Laborers--Tacoma; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1940-1950; Cans;
