Demolition of the F. W. Cook Brewery smokestack. "Frederick Washington Cook opened the small City Brewery, with his stepfather Jacob Rice, in 1853. [Rice had a brewery with his brother-in-law 1837-1854.] Within two years, he would split with his former partners and incorporate the business as F. W. Cook Brewing Company, building a large brewery located at the corner Seventh and Sycamore streets. The company became massively successful, selling several brands of beer throughout the Midwest and South. [At its peak, the brewery covered the entire area bounded by 7th and 8th Sts., Sycamore and Main Sts.] F. W. Cook also served as a city councilman and president of local railroads and telegraph interests before his death in 1913. The brewery operated in downtown Evansville for decades, surviving prohibition by selling near beer and Cook-Ola soda. Tony Hulman, owner of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, purchased a controlling share of the company in 1943. Management stopped production of beer during a labor dispute in 1955, though the company sold reserves for more than a year before closing. The brewery was torn down in 1965, making way for the Civic Center Complex. (http://www.courierpress.com/story/life/columnists/2017/01/23/history-lesson-fw-cook-brewing-company/96841734/)