McAvoy Brewing Company (founded in 1865 as Bemis & Rindge Brewery by Henry V. Bemis) was run by

John H. McAvoy John H. McAvoy (1830-1893) was the founder of the McAvoy Brewing Company in Chicago, Illinois, and was elected a Chicago alderman from the 3rd ward of Chicago in 1869. He served as Chicago City Council The Chicago City Council is the legisl ...

in Chicago, Illinois and was one of Chicago's largest breweries before Prohibition."His Labors Ended - John H. McAvoy passes the portals of eternity", Chicago Tribune July 25th, 1893 Coinciding with the Eighteenth Amendment going into effect on January 16, 1920, the brewery closed in 1920.

History

Early history

In 1865, the brewery began in a three-story brick building close to the corner of South Park Avenue and 23rd Street along

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

. In the early 1870s, a malt house was constructed next to the original building, along with 4 ice houses on the western side of the avenue in 1872, 1874, 1875, and 1876. In 1878 and 1879, two more ice houses were constructed on the east side of South Park Avenue. A substantial brick barn was built in 1878 and office building was built in 1879. In 1901, the company employed over one hundred men and the chief brewer was Fritz Hieronimus. Hieronimus learned the trade in Germany at Frankfort-on-the-Main, a well known school for brewers at the time. In 1890, Hieronimus was elected as an honorary members of the United States Brewmasters' Association. Until 1882, the officers of the company were: *Austin J. Doyle, President *Adam Ortseifen, Vice President *H. T. Bellamy, Secretary and Treasurer Doyle was Chicago's former Chief of Police and later became manager of the Illinois State Brewers' Association.

McAvoy involvement

From 1882 until 1920,

was president of the company. McAvoy was the brother-in-law of Peter Leyendecker, who came from Germany in 1882 with his family to work with McAvoy. Leyendecker was the father of American illustrators

J.C. Leyendecker Joseph Christian Leyendecker (March 23, 1874 – July 25, 1951) was a German-American illustrator, considered one of the preeminent American illustrators of the early 20th century. He is best known for his poster, book and advertising illustrati ...

and Frank X. Leyendecker. In 1889, the McAvoy Brewery, along with the Wacker & Birk Brewery were sold to an English Syndicate, the Chicago Breweries Limited. After joining the syndicate, McAvoy continued to use the same name and management. McAvoy was instrumental and securing funding to return John Brown's Fort back to West VirginiaSkilnik, Bob. ''Beer - A History of Brewing in Chicago''. Barricade Books, 2006, p. 56. after it had been brought to Chicago in 1892 for display at the World's Columbian Exposition. In 1893, in-house bottling was installed and McAvoy was among the largest breweries in Chicago.

Prohibition

As the Prohibition movement began, the cultural landscape changed and the business began a downturn. In 1920, the Brewery closed, which coincided with the Eighteenth Amendment going into effect on January 16, 1920.

Timeline

*1862-64, Bemis & Rindge Brewery *1864-69, Downer, Bemis & Co. *1869-82, Downer & Bemis Brewing Co. *1882-87, Bemis & McAvoy Brewing Co. *1887-1920, McAvoy Brewing Co.

References

{{reflist, 2 Beer brewing companies based in Chicago Defunct companies based in Illinois