Laserfiche WebLink
NF'S Form 10.900 -a OM8 Approval No. 1024 -0018 ' <br />1e-861 ' <br />United States Department of the Interior <br />National Park Service <br />National Register of Historic Places <br />Continuation Sheet <br />Section number F Page `` <br />South Bend Brewing Association St. Joseph County IN <br />As with the other local breweries, Prohibition, effected in 1919 <br />by the Volstead Act, forced the South Bend Brewing Association to <br />change its line of manufacture. About this time the Voedisch <br />family's long association with the - company began, continuing until <br />the brewery closed. George Voedisch (formerly employed with the <br />Muessel Brewery) became President and General Manager of the <br />renamed South Bend Beverage and Ice Association in 1922, replacing <br />Thomas Hoban: The firm made non - alcoholic beverages (among them <br />Hoosier Root Beer and Hoosier Sweet Cider), candy,.ice cream, and <br />in the non -food line, denatured alcohol for industrial purposes <br />and, of course, ice. When Prohibition ended the company resumed <br />brewing beer for regional sales, producing around fifty thousand <br />barrels yearly. After World War II business declined, at least in <br />part because of •a hefty federal excise tax on each barrel brewed <br />-that placed smaller breweries at a disadvantage. While the firm <br />continued its ice manufacturing section, Polar.Ice and Fuel, for a <br />few additional years, the brewery closed in November 1950. <br />Various businesses have used the building over the past decades: <br />the White Way Glass Company in the 1950s; the I.W. Lower Company <br />(paints) in the 1960s; a Harley- Davidson service and showroom <br />facility in the 1970s and early 1980s. At present a resale shop <br />occupies the storefront, and a glass manufacturer, Indiana Glass <br />Company, uses much of the first floor level along College. <br />The South Bend Brewing Association is representative of a turn -of- <br />the- century industrial building specifically designed for its <br />task, in this case, the brewing of beer. As the former home of a <br />locally produced, regionally distributed product - -an important <br />contributor the area's economy - -the South Bend Brewing <br />Association buildings are eligible for the National Register of <br />Historic Places under Criterion A in the area of industry. <br />