Saving Delaware’s King of by John Medkeff

I began researching the his- new brewery was tory of Wilmington, Delaware’s adorned with a Diamond State Brewery more huge statue of King than 20 years ago. During the Gambrinus. course of my research, several Though often sources informed me that the referred to as the iconic statue of Gambrinus that king or patron saint once adorned the brewery was of beer, the historic destroyed and sold for scrap. figures upon which Newspaper accounts confirmed the Gambrinus is that the statue had indeed been based were neither dropped and dashed to pieces kings nor saints. while being moved in 1978, The legend is be- Standing more than 10 feet tall, Diamond State’s Gambrinus, seen but I was unable to verify the lieved to have de- here in 1947, is believed to have been among the largest zinc trade story about the remains being rived from a couple statues made in America during the 19th century. The King remained scrapped. I took it on faith that of European noble- in his alcove atop the Diamond State Brewery for more than 80 old Gambrinus was gone forever, men who ruled in years, surviving the Prohibition era and two World Wars. since there had been no word on the : Photo courtesy Delaware Historical Society. the statue in nearly 20 years. Jan Primus, the Duke of Brabant, The statue’s story, which was and , the Duke almost too incredible to be true, of Burgundy. The legend of Gam- fascinated me. Little did I know brinus was embellished through- at the time that the statue’s final out the centuries and became so chapter had yet to be written. closely associated with the brew- Before it was over, I would find ing trade that breweries through- myself owning what I like to call out Europe featured Gambrinus “the ultimate piece of breweriana” statues. Naturally, many German and the gargantuan task of put- immigrant brewers like Stoeckle ting together an 11-foot tall, one brought that custom with them to ton, zinc statue. Before I get to America. that, I’ll tell you a bit about the The Stoeckle Co. be- history and significance of the came re-incorporated as Diamond Diamond State Brewery’s Gamb- State Brewing Co. in 1936, follow- rinus statue. ing its bankruptcy during Prohi- The King of Diamond State bition. Its iconic King Gambrinus After a fire destroyed the statue miraculously survived original Diamond State Brewery the brewery’s shuttering during in 1881, owner Joseph Stoeckle Prohibition to stand tall during replaced it the following year with the post-Repeal period. Even after a much larger and better outfitted the brewery ceased operations in brick structure. As was common 1954, Gambrinus stood atop the practice for American breweries of brewery, toasting passersby, just the period, the front of Stoeckle’s as he had done for a quarter of a

The Breweriana Collector www.nababrew.com 35 century. The familiar statue had on the history of brewing become a local landmark and, in Delaware called Brewing indeed, an icon of Delaware’s In Delaware and hoped to greatest era of brewing and include photos of the statue. industry. My voice messages and a let- The King Falls to Pieces ter to the owner went unre- Remarkably, two days after turned. the sale of the brewery complex After several months, I to a storage company in 1956, did some additional pok- Gambrinus’ right arm broke ing around and found out off and crashed on the brick that the former owner of the pavement two stories below, as statue had died the previ- The statue was moved into storage and was sold to an ous year. I made an inquiry antique dealer in 1978. Sadly it was accidentally dropped through the attorney han- and shattered into dozens of pieces. Yet they survived dling his estate, who offered and were acquired by the author in 2014. me the opportunity to take ington, where he remained until it photos of the statue’s pieces. closed in the early 1970s. After taking the photos, the attor- In 1978, the statue was in- ney asked if I knew anyone who advertently dropped on its back would want the statue. Without while being relocated and cracked hesitation, I offered to take it, into dozens of pieces. Amazingly, have it restored, and donate it to that was not the end of the King’s a local museum for public dis- story. play. Fast forward to 2014. I was A few months later, I was conducting a tour of historic fortunate enough to have a pre- Wilmington brewing sites. As the eminent expert in American zinc crowd was gathering to begin statuary, Carol Grissom of the the tour, a Delaware breweriana Smithsonian Institute, visit the enthusiast informed me that the statue for a first-hand examina- Gambrinus statue survived. He tion. She proclaimed it ultimately produced photos of King Gam salvageable and put me in touch that he had taken a few years with a couple of restoration com- prior. I was dumbfounded and panies. The scope of work will 1956: Gambrinus loses an arm. almost couldn’t believe what I was entail constructing a reinforced seeing. metal skeletal framework around if in defiance. The statue was Putting the King Back Together which the existing 60 plus pieces removed in 1962, days before Though the statue’s owner will be attached and then sol- the brewery was demolished made it clear that he didn’t want dered together. Since roughly to make way for the freeway his identity or the location of 25% of the original statue was de- through Wilmington. The next the statue revealed, I was able stroyed beyond repair, new parts year, Gambrinus was sold and to discover both through a bit of will be recast from 3D laser scans placed in front of a popular detective work. At the time, I was of a similar existing statue and restaurant in suburban Wilm- in the process of writing a book soldered to the statue’s frame- work. Finally, the finished prod- uct will be painted and readied The King had his arm and mug for display. restored when he was bought The King’s New Home by a restauranteur, after the Regarding display, the Dela- brewery was demolished in 1962 ware Historical Society (DHS) to make way for a highway. He has committed to receiving the held court at the front of the restored statue as a donation. appropriately-named King’s Inn in suburban Wilmington, toasting Not coincidentally, the DHS has passersby at the entrance until its own newly-renovated his- it too, went out of business in tory museum nine blocks east 1972. of the Diamond State Brewery’s original location. The Delaware

36 www.nababrew.com Fall 2017 History Museum is perfectly positioned to serve as a permanent home for Gambrinus. The DHS has the available resources to present and preserve the statue so that the public can enjoy it long into the future. The Diamond State’s King Gambrinus statue is much more than the ultimate piece of breweriana. It is an apt symbol for the revival of Delaware’s brewing industry and the city where it will eventu- ally be displayed. The statue is one of five known to still exist that were cast from similar moulds in Brooklyn, NY. The others are on display in Syra- cuse, NY; Breinigsville, PA; Baltimore, MD; and Toluca, Mexico. In late 2016, I helped found the non-profit Friends of Delaware’s Gambrinus Statue, Inc. The organization continues to make progress to- wards meeting the “Restore the King” campaign’s $100,000 fundraising goal. If you would like to help preserve this important American brewery history artifact (Delaware’s most significant) please visit www.RestoreTheKing.com to donate and learn more about the effort.

Above: 1942 Stoeckle Select Ale label. Below: December 1951 Morning News advertisement.

A close inspection of this 1898 litho shows the statue of King Gambrinus in the front.

About the Author: New NABA member John Medkeff has been researching and writing about Delaware breweries since 1996. He has authored numerous articles on the topic and wrote the book “Brewing In Delaware” (Arcadia Publishing). As noted above, he is currently leading the “Restore the King” campaign. John runs DelawareBeerHistory. com, a website devoted to the history of brewing in the First State, and the Facebook group Delaware Beer History. He is also an avid collector of Dela- ware breweriana.

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