The 1906 Olympia Brewery brewhouse, known locally as "the Old Brewery", is located at the base of the

Tumwater Falls The Tumwater Falls are a series of cascades on the Deschutes River in Tumwater, Washington, United States. They are located near where the river empties into Budd Inlet, a southerly arm of Puget Sound in Olympia. Geology The Deschutes River car ...

Tumwater, Washington Tumwater is a town in Thurston County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,350 at the 2020 census. It is situated near where the Deschutes River enters Budd Inlet, the southernmost point of Puget Sound; it also borders the state ca ...

. Once the manufacturing site for Olympia Beer, the classic

Mission Revival The Mission Revival style was part of an architectural movement, beginning in the late 19th century, for the revival and reinterpretation of American colonial styles. Mission Revival drew inspiration from the late 18th and early 19th century ...

structure, designed by prominent local architect

Joseph Wohleb Joseph Henry Wohleb (1887–1958) was an American architect from Washington (U.S. state), Washington. Life and career He was born in Waterbury, Connecticut, and grew up in California. He is known for the design of classic motion picture theaters ...

, replaced the initial wooden plant constructed in 1896. Dedicated in 1906, closed since the advent of

Prohibition Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...

, this imposing redbrick structure has long served as a landmark for local residents and drivers along

Interstate 5 Interstate 5 (I-5) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, running largely parallel to the Pacific coast of the contiguous U.S. from Mexico to Canada. It travels through the states of Califor ...

. A new brewery was built in 1934, uphill from the original brewhouse. Brewing operations in a modern plant on the site ended in 2003. OlympiaBrewery1989

The brewery has been for sale since the collapse of a

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more general ...

deal with a bottled water company in 2007. After condemning previous owners' water rights in April 2008, the cities of Lacey, Olympia and Tumwater took possession of water rights once held by the former

Olympia Brewing Company The Olympia Brewing Company was a brewery in the northwest United States, located in Tumwater, Washington, near Olympia. Founded in 1896 by Leopold Friederich Schmidt, it was bought by G. Heileman Brewing Company in 1983. Through a series of ...

. The original brewhouse is part of the

Tumwater Historic District Tumwater is a town in Thurston County, Washington, United States. The population was 25,350 at the 2020 census. It is situated near where the Deschutes River enters Budd Inlet, the southernmost point of Puget Sound; it also borders the state ca ...

, listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

October 2018 fire

On the early morning of October 8, 2018, the Tumwater Fire Department responded to the Olympia Brewery Complex for a reported structure fire. The fire had fully engulfed the building that formerly housed the Brewery offices. Part of the building collapsed as the crews extinguished the fire. There was no word on the cause of the fire though it is believed to be caused by people cutting copper wires out. The building still had some electrical currents which sparked a flame.

References

External links

Olympia Brewing Company Library Collection, 1937-2007Friends of the Old Brewery
Industrial buildings completed in 1896 Buildings and structures in Thurston County, Washington Brewery buildings in the United States Historic district contributing properties in Washington (state) National Register of Historic Places in Thurston County, Washington {{Washington-NRHP-stub

October 2018 fire

See also

References

External links