http://forgottenchicago.com/features/chicago-industry/bygone-breweries/From forgotten Chicago website link has pic of building:
The former Best Brewing Company complex is a good candidate for the “best†brewing remnant in Chicago. Located in the 1300 block of Fletcher in Lake View, it was in operation from 1885 until 1961; quite a long run for a Chicago brewery. Between 1885 and 1891 the complex was owned by several brewers, including Klockgeter and Company, before it became the Best Brewing Company.1
Left: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency
The image at left dates to 1987, when the complex was being converted into a residential loft complex called “The Brewery.†The present-day view shows the finished product; many windows were punched into blank brick walls, but the overall design of the buildings was retained. It is also important to note that this side of the building once faced the tracks of the Lakewood Branch of the Milwaukee Road rather than a street, which explains the lack of windows and face brick what would have been the “business end†of the building.
Designed by German architect Oscar Beyer, most of the buildings comprising the Best complex were built in the 1890s, according to the National Register of Historic Places.
GM
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