Brewery Exceptional

Recently, Quincy and I took a tour of this place:


Being station-ary

Oh yes. The old Cincinnati Water Works Pump Station in Eden Park.

I drive by this palatial place all of the time and have always wondered what was housed behind its chalky brick walls. As I learned from the whole 30 in 30 ordeal, if you want something, nut up and ask.

So, I undertook some thorough googling and, with the kind help of Mike Stuart of BrewProf.com, I met Jack Martin, the new steward of this stately structure.

Under the name Brewery X, Jack and his son Bryon have leased the building from the City of Cincinnati and are hard at work transforming these rambling remains into a beautiful brewery.


Jack Martin, in the pose customary for a visionary

As you'll see from this careful selection of the approx. 928 billion pictures Quincy and I took, Jack and Bryon have a lot of work to do.

But they're shooting to start renovations early next year and if Jack's enthusiasm, insight and vision are any indication, it's just a matter of time until we're all sipping steins of witbier here.


nice glass

This is the back of the ground floor, a space that was used as an office by the City until about 25 years ago. [Edit: Jack just let me know that it's only been vacant for about 10 years.] While this space quit operating as a pump station in 1907, Cincinnati found various uses for it throughout the years, including as a fire department and police communications center.

It's crazy to me that they would decide to construct a room that covers a corner of this lovely stained glass but just wait! It's about to get crazier.


I'm not even sure what this was/is. Neat picture, though, huh?


Getting artsy with some beautiful, decades-old built-in cabinetry


Cool Cold-War era comm equipment


Insane sanitation supplies

Okay, so this isn't the greatest picture. But I found it fascinating because Jack revealed that the Pump Station was used for emergency communications in the late 1960s and, due prevailing sense that social structures were failing, the City fortified this building with supplies needed to survive almost anything.

Basically, this is a bathroom in a cannister. A can in a can. A can can, if you will.


Those are old boiler remnants

This is the old boiler room. It's actually under Martin Drive and there's a manhole in the street that was used to feed coal down there. When cars drove overhead, you hear it. Quite spooky!

And the gentleman in the corner is Kevin. Hi, Kevin!


Refuse in the remaining boiler room coal


Jack, modeling a handful of rust stalactites 


board stiff

Oh, what's behind this unassuming board, you ask?


Jack's glass

IT'S ANOTHER STAINED GLASS WINDOW.

Someone bricked up and boarded over another stained glass window! Jack will be removing all of that, of course, in the remodel.


leg up

...And then we went up to the roof!


My eyes look dumb. Oh well.

Why yes, we are standing on the roof next to the chimney with Mount Adams in the background.

A million thanks to Jack at Brewery X and best of luck to him... I can't wait to watch the transformation.