ca. 1979. Faded Columbia Brewery mural on side of building, circa 1979. "Everybody knows it's better, Alt Heidelberg," accompanied by a stein lifting image of the company's signature student prince. The "ghost sign" dates back to 1933 when Columbia Brewery was still making its special lager brew Alt Heidelberg (Old Heidelberg.) In later years, Columbia Brewery sold to Heidelberg Brewing and Carling Brewing. The brewery closed in 1979. (TNT 12/18/2005, Soundlife section "Ghost signs beckon Tacoma toward its future")

Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Brewing industry--Tacoma--1970-1980;

ca. 1964. 1964 stock footage. The Olympia Brewing Co. plant is reflected in the large pond on company grounds in 1964. Visitors were invited to tour the facility daily from 8:00 to 4:30 pm to see how beer was made. The Olympia Brewing Co. had a long history in the Tumwater area, just south of Olympia. It was owned and operated by the Leopold Schmidt family for nearly 100 years. The company slogan, "It's the water," was very well known in the Western states. The brewery received its cold, pure water from deep artesian wells.

Brewing industry--Olympia--1960-1970; Olympia Brewing Co. (Olympia); Reflections;

ca. 1964. 1964 Stock footage. Exterior of Olympia Brewing Co. facilities. Visitors were made welcome daily at the Olympia Brewing Co. plant in Tumwater, south of Olympia. The Olympia Brewing Co. grew out of the Capital Brewing Co. in 1902 at which time they chose the phrase "It's the Water" to describe why their beers tasted so good. The Leopold Schmidt family owned and operated the brewery from 1896 to 1983. The All-American Bottled Water Corp. purchased the brewery from the Miller Brewing Co. on April 2, 2004, and would concentrate on bottling water, not beer. TPL-9323

Brewing industry--Olympia--1960-1970; Olympia Brewing Co. (Olympia);

ca. 1963. Studio display of bottled Hartz Western Style Pilsener beer. The six-pack was conveniently packaged in an open-end cardboard container. The customer would not have to bother with returning the used bottles as no deposit was taken at the time of purchase. Brewed by Tacoma's Silver Springs Brewing Co., each bottle contained 11 fluid ounces.

Beer--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.

Beer--Tacoma;

ca. 1957. Exterior of Heidelberg brewery. Smoke billows from Heidelberg's chimneys in a 1957 photograph. Formerly Columbia Breweries, the business had been located in Tacoma since 1900. Heidelberg continued Columbia's line of popular beers and ales and employed about 350 local residents. In 1959, the brewery was sold to Carling Brewing Co. who maintained the plant until 1979 when it closed permanently. Photograph ordered by Heidelberg Brewing Co.

Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Exterior-Heidelberg Brewery. Taken from across busy Jefferson Avenue on May 15, 1957, the Heidelberg Shipping Depot can be spotted in the center of the photograph. Other Heidelberg buildings are to its left. Heidelberg was well known for its Columbia Ale and Heidelberg beer. The brewery was purchased by Carling Brewery in 1959 and closed its doors twenty years later.

Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

An elevated view of downtown Tacoma was taken from the top of a hillside, looking northward, on May 15, 1957. Heidelberg Brewing Co. had requested several photographs of its plants from different viewpoints in the city. The brewery can barely be seen toward the center of the picture. Busy Pacific Avenue is a few streets in front of Heidelberg, Hunt & Mottet and the F.S. Harmon Mfg. Co. buildings are visible.

Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma);

Exterior-Heidelberg Brewery. This May 15, 1957, photograph taken diagonally from across "C" Street shows the main buildings of the Heidelberg Brewing Co. The brewery had undergone much expansion in the past few years and now occupied most of the 2100 block of South "C". Their bottled Columbia Ale and Heidelberg beer were still very popular and the brewery continued to provide employment for many local residents.

Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Exterior-Heidelberg Brewery. The Heidelberg Shipping Depot was located at S. 21st and Jefferson within sight of the lettered water tower and other parts of the brewery. A large delivery truck is parked outside the entry to the depot. Heidelberg had purchased Columbia Breweries in 1949 but waited until July, 1953, to change its name. Two years after this May 15, 1957, photograph was taken, the brewing company would be acquired by Carling Brewery. Photograph ordered by Heidelberg Brewing Co. TPL-5511

Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Operations at Heidelberg Brewing Co. were highly mechanized by the mid-1950's. A second brewing line was installed in the summer of 1954 which doubled the brewhouse capacity. Here a brewery employee keeps a careful eye on his large machine which appears to be in the bottling section. Photograph ordered by the Radio Corps. of America.

Machinery; Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Exterior brewery. The Heidelberg Brewing Co. occupied most of the 2100 block of South C Street in the 1950's, with only the J.E. Bunker Co., dealers in bicycles, between its buildings. A sign on the receiving department's exterior indicates that a three-story cellar building was under construction; Heidelberg continued to grow along with Tacoma, expanding and rebuilding, tripling in size in seven years. It would also install in the summer of 1954 a second brewing line which doubled brewhouse capacity. The company, which had purchased Columbia Breweries in 1949, finally changed its name to Heidelberg in 1953. It was later purchased by Carling Brewery in 1959 and closed its doors twenty years later. The above photograph was taken on August 26, 1954. (TNT 9-16-54, C-16)

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Signs (Notices);

Long view exterior brewery. This photograph of the Heidelberg Brewing Co. was taken from down the street on August 26, 1954, and shows that the brewery's shipping & receiving department was apparently separated from the main buildings by the J.E. Bunker Co., a dealer in bicycles. Heidelberg had purchased the well-known Columbia Breweries in 1949 and changed its name formally in 1953. By 1954, it had tripled its size. The building between the bicycle store and the shipping department was the new three-story cellar building which was used for storage and fermentation. Costing $700,000, it had three floors full of storage tanks with enough beer to fill 45 million bottles. (TNT 9-3-54, C-16) TPL-6499

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Signs (Notices);

Night exposure Heidelberg brewery. The lighted buildings of the Heidelberg Brewing Co. appear as beacons in the night in an August 26, 1954, photograph. The company's name stands out in stark relief on the water tower and main facility. The photograph was taken from below the brewery's "C" Street location from the viewpoint of Chester Hauge's Hauge's Gateway Service at 25th & Pacific Avenue. Photograph ordered by Heidelberg Brewing Co.

Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Signs (Notices); Hauge's Gateway Service (Tacoma);

Allen Lehman, master brewer, and Neil Andrews, kettle man, employees of the Silver Springs Brewing Co. are possibly doing some product testing on August 23,1954. Enormous brew kettle #1 is in the picture's foreground; it could brew over 150 barrels in one-eight hour shift. The Silver Springs Brewing Co. was located at 105 E. 26th and managed by Lyle L. Lane. They were listed as brewers of Old Style Pilsener Beer in the 1954 City Directory. Photograph ordered by the Condon Co, advertising. (TNT 9-3-54, C-14) TPL-8590

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Silver Springs Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Lehman, Allen; Andrews, Neil; Kettles;

Exterior brewery. Large lettering on the Silver Springs Brewing Co.'s building proudly proclaimed it as the "Home of Oldstyle Pilsener Beer" in an August 18, 1954, photograph. The Silver Springs Brewing Co. was founded in Port Orchard in 1934 and moved to Tacoma in 1950. After moving to Tacoma and purchasing the site at 105 E. 26th St., former home to Northwest Brewing Co., they added a three-story bottling plant to the complex. They provided Heidelberg Brewing (Columbia Breweries) with competition for Northwest beer drinking tastes with their Oldstyle Pilsener, brewed with artesian water.

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Silver Springs Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Signs (Notices);

Exterior brewery. The Silver Springs Brewing Co., "Home of Oldstyle Pilsener Beer", competed with Heidelberg Brewing (Columbia Breweries) for a share of the Northwest market. Their Oldstyle Pilsener and Hartz brands were brewed with artesian water. View of exterior of Silver Springs brewery; railroad crossing sign indicated that there would be easy transport of the bottled products from the brewery to customers. Silver Springs had been in existence since 1934 and located in Tacoma since 1950. They continued to expand their sphere of operations for many years.

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Silver Springs Brewing Co. (Tacoma);

Close-up display of beer bottles. Pilsener Beer was brewed locally with artesian water by the Silver Springs Brewing Co. View of two brands of Pilsener Beer, Oldstyle and Hartz. Both were advertised as "Extra pale". Pilsener was a light beer with a strong flavor of hops; its name probably came from the Czech city of Pilsen (Pizen). The Silver Springs Brewing Co. were located at 105 E. 26th St.; the 1954 City Directory listed Lyle L. Lane was secretary/manager. Photograph ordered by Condon Co., an advertising firm.

Beer--Tacoma; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Silver Springs Brewing Co. (Tacoma); Merchandise displays--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Representatives from Pendleton, Oregon, visited Heidelberg Brewery in April, 1954. The thirteen men and women pose in front of a Heidelberg doormat; it shows the familiar brewery symbol of a man quaffing a refreshing stein of beer. Heidelberg had purchased the brewery from Columbia Breweries a few years prior, although advertising until 1953 continued to emphasize the Columbia name. Carling Brewery eventually purchased Heidelberg in 1959; the plant was finally closed in 1979.

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960;

Consolidated Beverage trucks bearing the smiling student prince logo of Heidelberg Brewery. Drivers pose beside their gleaming white delivery trucks in what appears to be a largely residential area. Richards Studio appointment records indicate that this photograph was taken in Seattle.

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Trucks--Tacoma--1950-1960;

Heidelberg Brewery- Salesmen's wives boarding bus outside the Winthrop Hotel. Heidelberg often held sales meetings in Tacoma and entertainment was planned for the ladies. Here the wives are neatly attired in coats and some furs, as well as the requisite hat, and ready to board a bus for a sightseeing junket. The brewery was known as Columbia Breweries from 1900-1953; in July of 1953 the company changed its name to Heidelberg Brewing Co. Its most famous products were the beers "Alt Pilsener" and "Columbia Ale." Both labels stopped production with the breweries' closure in 1979. TPL-8479

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Hotel Winthrop (Tacoma);

Heidelberg Brewing Co., Sales Meeting. The company originated as Columbia Brewing Co. in 1900, begun by three men with a capitalization of $50,000. It was purchased in 1949 by Heidelberg Brewery Co. and remodeled and rebuilt. The company officially changed its name on July 15, 1953 to Heidelberg Brewing Co. Its famous labels "Alt Pilsener" and "Columbia Ale" were consumed throughout the Northwest. The company sold in 1958 to Carling Brewing Co. of Canada. Its doors closed in Tacoma in 1979, after 3/4 of a century of quenching the thirst of the Northwest.

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Sales personnel--Tacoma; Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960--People;

Columbia Breweries. Brew kettle being dismantled. The kettle was used for brewing beer. Ingredients were added on the upper level of the kettle- barley malt, hops and water. The brewery had two enormous copper kettles with a capacity of 330 barrels each and made an average of 6 brews each day. Two deep artesian wells on the property supplied the water, pumping 66,000 gallons per day. The company was known as Columbia Breweries from 1900-1949. It was purchased by Heidelberg Brewing Co. in 1949 but continued to do business as Columbia. On July 15, 1953, the brewery officially changed its name to Heidelberg Brewing Company. They sold in 1958 to Carling Brewing Co. of Canada and closed their doors in Tacoma in 1979, after 3/4 of a century of brewing.

Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Kettles;

Members of the staff of Heidelberg Brewing Co. and of Bona Fide Builders construction company inspect the scale model for the new 3/4 million dollar "Brew House" to be added to the brewing plant on So. C St. The construction of the four story storage cellar has been contracted with Bona Fide Builders Inc., a Tacoma construction company. The basic contract is for $350,000 for the construction of a reinforced concrete building to house the cellars. The building will cover an area 55 x 140 feet on So. C. The tank and refrigeration contracts bring the cost to $800,000. The glass lined tanks have a capacity of over 1,000 barrels each. The production of the new plant is estimated to be 750,000 barrels annually. Pictured, left to right, are Anders W. Erickson, Brewmaster, T.L. McCormick of the architectural designers, Michael M. Kneip, Assistant Brewmaster, Joseph Wohleb, Brewery architect, W. Boyd Dickson Jr., President of Bona Fide Builders, Hollis Kerr, Heidelberg construction superintendent, Nick Ockfen, Bona Fide superintendent of construction, L. Paul Marten, engineer for the brewing co., A.L. Waterbury, Chief Engineer of the brewing co. and Bailey H. Nieder, technical assistant and manager of engineering department of the brewing co. (TNT 7/16/1953, pg. C-13)

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Bona Fide Builders Inc. (Tacoma); Erickson, Anders W.; Kneip, Michael M.; Wohleb, Joseph; Dickson, W. Boyd; Kerr, Hollis; Waterbury, A.L.; Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960;

A long fleet of Ford and Chevrolet trucks stands ready to go outside the Columbia Breweries plant in May, 1953. They would be used to deliver very popular brands Columbia Ale and Heidelberg beer to waiting customers. Columbia Breweries, after much expansion, would be the largest brewery north of San Francisco and west of Milwaukee. In July, 1953, it would change its name to Heidelberg Brewing Co. and be purchased by Carling Brewery in 1959. After being a Tacoma fixture since 1900, it would finally close its doors in 1979. TPL-9289

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Trucks--Tacoma--1950-1960;

A long row of delivery trucks with accompanying drivers stands by the Columbia Breweries offices on May 25, 1953. Drivers were neatly dressed, some with ties and uniforms. Columbia Breweries, later to change its name to Heidelberg Brewing Co., was a long-time fixture in Tacoma. It was known for its Alt Heidelberg and Columbia Ale. The company finally closed its doors in 1979.

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Heidelberg Brewing Co. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Trucks--Tacoma--1950-1960;

A line of parked cars outside the Columbia Breweries building indicates that people are still working late on a rainy January, 1953, evening. There are still lights on the first floor and partially on the second floor. Columbia Breweries was well known across the country for their production of Heidelberg beer and Columbia Ale.

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960;

ca. 1952. An architectural drawing of Columbia Breweries' new bottle shop that was to be built at the southern end of the brewery along South C Street. The glass-fronted bottling line and storage building would contain over 53,000 square feet of additional plant. Drawing by Wohleb & Wohleb Architects in Olympia, Rober Dudley of Seattle, photographer. Copies of old prints ordered by Heidelberg Brewing Company in December 1954.

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Architectural drawings;

ca. 1952. For eight years, beginning in 1949, "Raye & O'Dare," also known as the "Heidelberg Harmonaires," were the voice of Tacoma brewed Heidelberg beer on radio and television. Claude "Raye" Frankforter, at the piano, and Scott O'Dare (whose original name was believed to be Easton Skogsbergh) were heard from three to five nights a week on over 31 radio stations in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Alaska. Sponsored by Columbia Breweries, the Harmonaires provided song, patter and piano and signed off as "Your Tacoma Neighbor, the Columbia Breweries." Claude (Raye) Frankforter died in 2001. Photograph by Robert Dudley of Seattle and believed to be dated around 1952. Copies of prints ordered by Heidelberg Brewing Company in December 1954. (information on Raye from online quote of Skagit Valley Herald obituary)

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960; Pianos; Music ensembles--Tacoma; KOMO-KJR Radio Station (Seattle); Radio broadcasting--Tacoma--1950-1960; Raye, Claude; O'Dare, Scott; Advertising--Tacoma--1950-1960;

ca. 1952. An artistic rendition of Columbia Breweries' facilities showing how the facilities had grown and expanded from the original main brewery and steam plant to cover over four acres spreading from South C Street to Jefferson Avenue and from South 21st to South 23rd Streets. The bottle shop on the far left and the shipping depot in the back right were added in 1952. A second story was added to the depot in 1953. The brewery advertised their two malt beverages, Alt Heidelberg in cans, 12 ounce stubbies and quart bottles, and Columbia Ale. Copies of prints ordered by Heidelberg Brewing Company in December 1954. (TNT, 4/7/1953, p.D-10)

Brewing industry--Tacoma--1950-1960; Columbia Breweries, Inc. (Tacoma)--1950-1960;