Storied downtown EL brewery demolished
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EAST LIVERPOOL -- Most community members have fond memories of a downtown city building, which housed a brewery amid multiple prohibitions. Ultimately, though it succumbed in its fight against the elements and Father Time.
The former Crockery City Brewery building, which is located in the 200 block of Webber Way, had a date with a demolition crew. It is unknown how long it will take to complete the job, which had a pronounced dent atop its upper floors at the end of business Monday.
Hissom Roofing and Construction announced the pending demolition Monday morning on its Facebook page. Describing it is as a "bittersweet moment" for this building that is connected to their office and shop, they posted about its tale of resilience even in midst of prohibition before closing in 1951.
Joseph Hissom, who is listed as one of the owners of the building, explained Monday during an interview that the building, which has even sprouted upstairs vegetation on its upper floors, has fallen in more disrepair over the years and the owners decided to let the building go in the name of public safety. "We are very sad to see it go," the post said.
"It was a very hard decision. They don't build structures like this anymore," he recounted as the crew demolished the building in front of him. "There are 57 I-beams on each floor and the walls are more than 27 inches thick. It used to be a fallout shelter."
The Crockery City Brewing and Ice Company as well as the East Liverpool Ice and Coal Co. had previously occupied the brewery complex, according to author Dr. Robert A. Musson. The north side of West Eighth Street, near Jefferson Avenue, was renamed Webber Way in the 1940s.
Before prohibition outlawed the production, importation, transportation and sale of alcoholic beverages until 1933, Dr. Robert A. Musson recalls in his book how thanks to a larger and more vocal backing, East Liverpool had been voted dry much earlier in 1907. However, eventually it was renamed the Crockery City Ice and Products Company and acquired City Pure Milk and Ice Cream Co. which allowed "the company to continue functioning as a profitable enterprise for the next 14 years."
Eventually the company would change hands many times, and officials declared bankruptcy in 1951 and ended brewery operations a year later.
An article on the East Liverpool Historical Society website recalls how United States federal tax agents converged on the plant and poured some 700 barrels and 9,000 cases of untaxed beer into the Ohio River. "All stocks of barley, soybeans and corn flakes were sold to neighboring feed mills, (and) local newspapers had a field day with articles regarding intoxicated fish having a party on the banks of the Ohio River."
After a brief stint with a coalition of local business owners who opened a dairy operation on the location, the Hissoms would acquire the complex more than 30 years ago.
Some of its bricks were gifted to residents who wanted to remember the good times associated with the brewery. Hissom explained that a crusher will be brought on site to help dispose of the debris, which may be used for things like surface for ball fields. He expressed no immediate plans for the property once the building was gone.