Falstaff Brewery – 1920 Shenandoah

Tucked away in the northeast corner of the Benton Park neighborhood of South St. Louis, neglected and lonely, is the former Falstaff Brewery. Maybe not as beautiful or well known as its cousin 10 blocks to the south, the Lemp Brewery, but a piece of local history nonetheless. But while talk has continual gone on for years about redeveloping the old Lemp complex, the Falstaff has gotten far less fan fare.

In the past couple of years, the only significant mention of the Falstaff name locally was the fire that happened at the site in February of 2008 (ended up being nothing major) and the proposed redevelopment (see St. Louis Business Journal article) of the other, less attractive, former Falstaff Brewery in town at 3674 Forest Park Blvd. This brewery has less character that the one in Benton Park, but the proximity to the SLU campus made it an attractive development option. Unfortunately, it seems that the project never really got off the ground. There is actually a website for the project, but as far as I know, it is dead (if you have info to the contrary I would love to hear it).

As for the brewery at 1920 Shenandoah, it is gradually showing signs of its age. Other than the fire earlier this year, structural problems have continued to mount due to decaying mortar and water damage. The property has been listed for sale (see brochure) for a few years now, but I guess the $1.3 million price tag and uncertain housing sector makes investing in this 129,214 sq ft behemoth a bit questionable to the big guys in town and around the country.

The good thing is that there is still plenty of time for someone to come in an fix up the building. Although it is deteriorating as is expected of any untended building, it is long from a lost cause. Since the building is located off of the best section of the Benton Park neighborhood and only a few blocks from McGurk’s and all the traditional Soulard attractions, I have to think that someone will pay attention to the potential of this one as the market slowly warms back up in the coming years. But I hate waiting.

[Show as slideshow]