From the Nation Register of Historic Places Registration Form:
Falstaff Brewery, Galveston, Galveston County, Texas.
Statement of Significance
The State of Texas granted a charter to the Galveston Brewing Company to manufacture and sell beer in 1893. In
1895, national brewing figures Adolphus Busch and William Lemp partnered with a group of Galveston investors to
found the Galveston Brewing Company and their first locally brewed beer appeared in 1896. The Falstaff Company,
purchased the Galveston Brewery in 1956, when it was one of the country’s most successful breweries. An aggressive
expansion and modernization campaign transformed the former Galveston Brewing Company facility into a large
industrial complex through a series of accredited additions resulting in varying layers of materials and construction
technologies. Galveston’s Falstaff Brewery is eligible for the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A
for its local significance in the area of Industry associated with its brewing operations in Galveston. The period of
significance, 1956-1968, begins with Falstaff’s purchase of the brewery and continues through its greatest period of
expansion and up to the 50-year period. The National Park Service approved a Historic Preservation Certification
Application: Part 1 in December 2016. Later review by NPS determined that the building retained sufficient integrity
despite the demolition of the Ice Factory (1895) by a separate owner in 2017. The Falstaff Brewery is emblematic of
Texas’ rich brewing history and the complex remains a visible reminder of Galveston’s industrial heritage. The
Falstaff Brewery was a significant contributor the industrial history and economy of Galveston and is an important
remaining example of the city’s industrial development.
-----------------------------------------------------
Forbes Magazine
Cynthia Lescalleet - April 24, 2018
Former Falstaff Brewery In Galveston Taps Into New Uses
Producing beer isn't in the cards any longer, but serving it will be, given some of the new uses in the works for the former Falstaff Brewery property in Galveston, Texas. The century-old structure and its later additions are being re-purposed, piece by piece, in a revitalizing once-industrial corridor of The Oleander City.
Cruise ship terminal parking, climate controlled storage, a rooftop events venue with bay views, and a boutique hotel with outdoor entertainment plaza are among the uses either in place, soon to open or in the chute, reports the project's determined developer, attorney Jerome M. Karam of JMK5 Holdings.
The native of Louisiana (and long-time Texan) says he likes the challenge of mega-scale projects. Another example is his purchase and repackaging of the massive Mall of the Mainland, located 20 miles north of the brewery in Texas City.
Galveston’s multi-building, multi-level brewery property is a whopper as well. It weighed in at around 330,000-square-feet when Karam purchased it in the spring of 2015, for an undisclosed amount.
“I thought it could be re-purposed,” Karam explains of his decision. “Everyone said it couldn't be done.”
Adaptive Reuse
----------------------------------------------------
Houston Chronicle Then and Now: Falstaff Brewery
By Michael Callahan on February 24, 2016
February 24, 1970
On this day, the Cruz Blanca Brewery of Juarez, Mexico had upped its capacity to 1800 barrels of beer a month after purchasing bottling equipment from an old Falstaff Brewery in El Paso. Eleven years later, the Falstaff Brewery in Galveston was also being gutted, and eventually, it’s brewhouse tanks were shipped to China.
In 1956, the Falstaff-Brewing Corporation of St. Louis purchased the brewery at 33rd Street and Avenue E; the plant had been operated by Galveston-Houston Breweries Incorporated which brewed Southern Select beer at that location. The Falstaff Brewery was originally built in 1905 and is now listed as an endangered historic structure.
Plans for redeveloping the building have come and gone, and most recently, the Chronicle reported in August of 2015 that the empty industrial site might be turned into a cruise passenger parking lot, and its 313,00 square foot structure could be converted into condos and a hotel. In 2010, the building was used as a location for the filming of a horror film called “Hellstorm.”