ROBERT PORTNER BREWERY (44AX0196)

INTRODUCTION Archaeological Resource Management Reports, and the Secretary of the In the Fall of 1998 and Winter of 1999- Interior's Standards and Guidelines for 2000, Parsons Engineering Science Archaeology and Historic Preservation. (Parsons ES) conducted Phase I and II All work was carried out in consultation archaeological investigations at the with and overseen by the staff of Portner’s Brewery Site, located in the Alexandria Archaeology. parking area at the rear of 600 North Washington Street in Alexandria, As part of the project, Timothy Dennée, Virginia. The property was bounded by a recognized local expert on brewing and Wythe Street on the north, Pendleton breweries, conducted documentary Street on the south, St. Asaph Street on research on both Portner’s Brewery and the east, and Washington Street on the the brewing process in general. Mr. west. The Portner’s Brewery Site Dennée’s report comprises a separate existed on this property during the mid- document entitled Robert Portner and nineteenth and into the twentieth His Brewery. The interpretation of the centuries. This study was conducted in features discovered at the Portner’s compliance with the City of Alexandria Brewery site was based upon the Archaeological Standards, May 1990, findings of Mr. Dennée’s research. Guidelines for Preparing

1 HISTORY South. The Irwin brewery also exported ale to the West Indies. Although there The Brewing Industry in Alexandria. were already larger breweries in America, The origins of brewing in Alexandria date by the standards of the day this was as early as the 1730s when area indeed a large operation. Unfortunately, plantations produced beer for their own the Irwin plant was lost to fire in 1854. use. By 1771, Andrew Wales established a commercial brewery in a leased public Only a few years elapsed before new warehouse on Point Lumley at the foot of establishments took the place of the Irwin Duke Street. The Wales brewery, despite brewery. Henry S. Martin opened a small undergoing several changes of ownership ale brewery at the corner of Commerce during the 1790s, continued to produce and Fayette Streets in 1856. And in 1858, “Strong and Small Beer,” perhaps as late two Germans, Alexander Strausz and as 1809. By that time, two other John Klein, leased an old frame building breweries also opened: the Potowmack on Duke Street in the “suburb” of West Brewery at the foot of Oronoco Street, End, and commenced the construction of and the Union Brewery at the southwest a brick-vaulted beer cellar. The Shooter’s corner of Union and Wolfe Streets. These Hill Brewery (later known variously as companies closed in 1807 and 1821, Shuter’s Hill, Klein’s, Englehardt’s or the respectively. West End Brewery) was the first to introduce the brewing of lager beer to Success for early American brewers was Alexandria and to the state of Virginia. difficult since they not only competed Compared to the ales and porters popular with British imports, but with a until after the Civil War, lager beer multitude of other fermented and required a different type of yeast and distilled beverages available such as colder temperatures for fermentation and wine and cider. Hard spirits, especially aging. rum and whiskey, remained more popular than beer until the mid- The Civil War was a time of rapid, but nineteenth century. Brewery temporary, expansion in the local brewing proprietorships were often short-lived as industry. The presence of Union troops turnovers and advertisements offering to created an unprecedented demand for rent or sell breweries were common alcoholic beverages of all types, despite occurrences during the Federal period. the prohibition of the sale of liquor and beer within the city limits. The two For most of the 1820s, no beer was existing breweries increased production commercially produced in Alexandria. and capacity accordingly. A third About 1831, however, brothers James and brewery, Portner & Company, was William Henry Irwin established an ale established in 1862 by a partnership of brewery on the waterfront at the foot of four men who had arrived during the Wolfe Street, across from the former Union occupation hoping to prosper from Union/Entwisle brewery. Their business wartime demand for provisions. In fact, grew quickly and, at an eventual 3,000 between September 1862 and October barrels annual production (one barrel 1865, these three breweries produced and equals 31 gallons) and a regional market sold nearly 9,000 barrels of lager beer and area of about 1,000 square miles, it ale. perhaps became the largest brewery in the

2 barley malt. The malt was elevated there The collapse in demand following the war by mechanical hoists, readied to drop ruined or threatened all of the brewing through chutes into the mash tuns on the firms. By the mid-1870s, several floor below. The second floor, the center breweries were no longer in operation and of brewing activity, contained probably others were in substantial debt. The two copper brew kettles and at least one former Shooter’s Hill Brewery, now mash tun. The first floor housed the wash under the proprietorship of Henry room. Immediately behind the brewhouse Englehardt, a former employee of John was an attached structure containing an Klein, continued its operations, though at eight-horsepower steam engine and considerably decreased levels. Portner & boiler, ventilated by a smokestack. The Company dissolved, and Robert Portner, next section to the north held the coolers now sole owner, purchased a new site on used to reduce the temperature of the North St. Asaph Street and constructed a freshly brewed wort. Because the coolers large modern brewery and cellars. were located on the third floor, the wort had to be pumped upward from the brew The Robert Portner Brewery. Robert kettles. The rest of the floor area was Portner purchased the north half of the devoted to malt storage. The next section, 600 block of between Washington Street surmounted by the central tower, also and St. Asaph Streets and between contained hops and malt storage on at Pendleton and Wythe Streets in 1865. He least the third floor. The brewery clearly constructed lager cellars containing 36 possessed room for expansion, and large fermenting casks. In 1868, Portner probably housed some of the functions, began construction on a new brewery like cooperage or bottling, which were along St. Asaph Street. later spun off into subsidiary buildings.

The roughly 60-foot by 160-foot brewery One of the first enlargements to the was built along the west side of what is Portner Brewery facilities was the now the 600 block of North St. Asaph construction of an ice house, partly Street. It was constructed of load-bearing complete in the spring of 1871. By the brick arches and walls reaching late 1870s, in addition to the main thicknesses of two-and-a-half feet. It was brewery buildings and the ice house, clearly of the Victorian era, designed in Portner had constructed at least one the Gothic Italianate style, popular among stable and as many as four other brewers of the period. Near the center, accessory structures, likely including a however, rose a tower more than 56 feet cooper’s shop. In 1885, new additions at high capped by a Second Empire mansard the rear of the brewhouse reflected roof and apparently constructed for technological advancement and the aesthetic reasons. The plant was divided increase in production. Two one-story into six sections, three- to five stories tall, structures contained a 150-horsepower running north and south along the steam engine and its boilers. The northern half of the block. Brewing was “engines,” or compressors, that cooled conducted in the southernmost section, a the wort after brewing, kept the vaults four-story structure surmounted by a cold and possibly manufactured ice. A cupola and louvered window openings for large smokestack vented coal smoke cooling and ventilation. The third story from the boilers’ fireboxes. In 1886, contained hoppers or storage bins for

3 electric lighting was beginning to tower occur north of the pipe shop. A 50 replace the gas jets, oil lamps, and foot square structure identified as a Brew candles which illuminated the work House was situated to the south, along N. space and beer vaults. St. Asaph, in addition to several small ancillary buildings including a meal room In 1891, the plant showed still more and grain dryer. changes including a new pump house and wells, relocation of the cooper shop; Portner’s Brewery curtailed operations in new bottle and keg storage sheds; and a 1916 because of Prohibition but entered new, 50-foot smokestack. The steam new fields; the company was rechartered power had been increased to a total of as The Robert Portner Corporation. The 225 horsepower contained in a larger main brewery buildings were likely used addition. for storage for the Portner’s Virginia Feed and Milling Corporation, given that they In the spring of 1893, a new three story still contained huge grain bins. The brewhouse, measuring 40 by 60 feet was brewery buildings were vacant by 1921. constructed adjoining the old brewhouse The buildings behind the brewery on the south. The new brewhouse was structure were razed in 1932 by order of 54 feet high from the street level to the the fire chief. In 1935, the management top of main cornice, and a total height to of the Corporation decided to demolish apex of ventilator over lantern of main the main brewery buildings. Two years roof of 80 feet. The new brewhouse was later, the Robert Portner Corporation was built of brick, stone, steel and iron, with dissolved. lumber only being used for windows, doors, the purlins and top layers of roofs. ARCHAEOLOGY The entire interior framing for floors, platforms, galleries and other supports, The first controlled excavation of any as well as the main roof were part of the Robert Portner Brewery site constructed of steel. The floors were occurred in 1994. City archaeologists filled between beams with concrete monitored the demolition of the rear of arches. The roof was covered with slate the 1901 ice plant and the excavation and all guttering was copper. The floors behind it along Pitt Street in preparation were accessed by iron staircases as well for a mixed-use office/residential as an elevator. development. Little was discovered except for brick rubble, a few bottle By 1907, extensive additions to the sherds, and clumps of purple-stained brewery occurred west and south of the refuse and clay, presumably from the earlier configuration, including a 1907 ink factory across Wythe Street. condenser, ice machines and air Similarly, backhoe excavation of the rear conditioners. The air conditioners were (east side) of the 1912 bottling house located in a large concrete floored during the winter of 1997-1998, prior to structure. The boiler room was extended the construction of “Portner’s Landing,” westward with a brick floor. Additional produced no evidence of the brewery’s structures, including a pump room, office, large, ca. 1898 stable. storage, and pipe shop, were constructed behind the brewery. A large 120,000 Parsons ES conducted Phase I gallon water tank and associated water archaeological investigations in October

4 and November 1998. The purpose of were identified and recorded in areas these studies was to determine if representing the 1868 brewhouse, the archaeological resources remained intact 1894 brewhouse and the north beer beneath the parking lots. After the vault. analysis of historic maps of the project area, 11 trenches were excavated using a Features. The structural features backhoe monitored by an archaeologist. encountered were divided into six These trenches were placed on the categories: bearing wall foundations; property where they could best intercept partition or platform footings; column potential archaeological resources. bases or footings; equipment mounts; Archaeological testing revealed the flooring; and water source or storage presence of 15 architectural features features. Sixteen brick wall/ foundations related to the use of the property as a or wall fragments were identified during brewery, including: the beer vault, where these investigations and represent both lager beer was produced; walls from exterior and interior walls from various several associated structures; and two construction episodes at the Robert deep features (wells or privies) that Portner Brewery. Exterior walls would have provided and stored water associated with the beer vaults (Feature for use in the beer making process. 14), the Ice/Engine room (Feature 13), and the 1868 brewhouse (Feature 45), A Phase II archaeological study on the and interior walls separating the beer property in December 1999 and January vaults and brewhouse (Features 6, 9, 49, 2000 utilized a backhoe to remove the 50 and 51) represent the 1885 brewery asphalt parking surface and overburden configuration. from above intact archaeological resources. Forty-one additional features

Archaeological Features in the Southern Portion of the Project Area

5 Additional brick foundations associated have supported the cast iron framework with the construction of the new that held up the interior platforms and brewhouse in 1894 consisted of exterior stairs; or the hop jack, which added hops walls (Feature 1) and new interior walls to the wort for flavoring, then strained (Feature 44) which were slightly skewed them out; or the receiving tank for the from the original wall (Feature 45). A brew on its way to the coolers. But later construction period (pre-1907) is perhaps the most likely alternative, represented by the east wall of the Grain however, was that the stones served as Dryer building (Feature 3). the base for the brewhouse freight elevator, depicted on the 1902, 1907, Artifacts. Individual artifacts related to and 1912 Sanborn maps as being in brewing or associated with the Robert roughly the same location. Portner Brewing Company were absent. Only a few possibly brewery-related metal objects were observed, including a large iron strap hinge, a wall or beam anchor, some steel and copper pipe, some type of reciprocating machine part, and a wooden box conduit containing seven insulated wires associated with the plant’s electrical system.

SUMMARY

The Brewhouses. The massive foundations of the two (1868 and 1894) brewhouses were found approximately 4 feet below the current grade, confirming the size and location of the structures as depicted on Sanborn insurance maps. Constructed of load-bearing brick masonry, the foundations were as much as 4.5 feet wide. Possible footings or pads for structural support or equipment platforms were located in both brewhouse footprints. 1907 Sanborn Map with Features

The new brewhouse (1894) contained The other notable features of the two dressed granite slabs (a non-native southern end of the brewery were water stone), generally about 18 inches tall and source or water storage structures. Two usually at least 4 feet square, that served brick shafts were discovered within the as pedestals or mounts for equipment or old brewhouse (1868), not far from the steel posts. The documentary evidence south wall. The larger measured provides the basis for reasonable guesses approximately 11 feet in diameter and as to the function of the stone blocks in only 7 feet deep from the elevation at the new brewhouse. The granite may which it was discovered (Feature 46).

6 The other shaft was approximately 70 The Beer Vault. Two brick foundation inches in diameter, although its upper features (Features 11 and 12) were section was distorted and irregular in identified in the beer vault area which do shape (Feature 5). On its interior were not correspond to any interior beer vault remnants of parging, a coating of mortar walls as indicated on the Sanborn used as a water barrier, in this case, to Insurance maps. Both features were keep water in. The shallowness of the substantial brick walls with concrete wider shaft also suggests that these were surfaces; Feature 11 occurred within the cisterns for water storage rather than second beer vault and Feature 12 was wells for drawing ground water. Feature located adjacent to the interior wall 5 matched the approximate location of a inside the third beer vault. Two distinct circle labeled “pump over 2 driven construction episodes were recorded for wells” in the washroom on the 1885 the west wall of the north beer vault Sanborn map. (Feature 14) with the exterior portion representing the original construction At the rear of the 1894 brewhouse, and an inner wall characterizing a later interrupting its rear wall, was a third stage of construction. These features brick shaft, 10 feet in diameter, at least indicate structural changes to the beer 20 feet deep, and showing no evidence vault configuration. It is possible that of parging (Feature 41). Its location Features 11 and 12 could be associated attests to the fact that it was excavated with the original beer vault configuration prior to construction of the 1894 constructed by Portner in 1865-1867 and brewhouse, although possibly just the original west wall (Feature 14) of the before. It actually corresponds to the north beer vault also represents that time location of the brewery’s ca. 1885 pump frame. house, which was torn down before 1891 and contained “four driven wells”. The perfectly preserved floor of the beer Since the builders of the 1894 cellar (Feature 33) was uncovered at the brewhouse did not run the walls around southwest corner of St. Asaph and this shaft or fill it in, this strongly Wythe Streets. The northernmost suggests it was being used at the time. section of the plant, which measured nearly 40 by 50 feet, would have been In 1869, Portner probably drew his water the location for the fermentation and from surface wells and possibly, the city aging of much of the beer produced by water supply. By the mid-1880s, the brewery, especially prior to 1880. however, deep wells were being driven The concrete floor was bisected by a far below the water table. Some of the gutter (Feature 20) running west to east earlier water features may have and dropping about a foot over its remained either filled in or re-used for course. The gutter obviously served to other purposes. By 1912, the brewery drain off ice melt, wash water, and had at least 10 dug or driven wells, plus spilled beer. a number of other unidentified subterranean receptacles (not to mention The most remarkable aspect of the cellar large above-ground and rooftop tanks). was the marks left in the floor. Apparently, substantial weights on the not entirely cured concrete surface left a

7 permanent series of shallow, rectangular depressions in regular rows. Each was perhaps 4.5 feet long by 12 inches wide and at 4 to 5-foot intervals from other similar and parallel depressions. Oriented east-west, these depressions appear to have been left by the timber stillions or stands that once supported large aging casks. Given the arrangement of the depressions that were actually exposed, it appears that there were once four parallel rows of casks in the cellar, each row containing 6 or 7 casks, for a total of 24 to 28 casks. Portner’s mid-1860s deeds of trust state that he then had 36 large casks in his cellar.

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