Fulton Ave. Brewery at 330-430 Fulton Ave., on the corner of Pennsylvania St. A brewery was built at this location as early as 1863. The owners built a new brewery in the summer of 1880 across the St. from the Old Brewery. The modern, new Fulton Ave. Brewery was 74feet x 114feet and four stories tall. It was designed by Meinrad Schoenkrechler. This new building is what is pictured here. It suffered major ice storm damage in 1890 and much of what is seen here was torn down or rebuilt. Hartmetz and Son Brewery, Evansville Brewery and Fulton Brewery merged to form the Evansville Brewing Association in 1893 in an effort to protect small breweries. This association was reportedly the result of a price war between the larger F.W. Cook Brewery and the non-affiliated breweries in town. The main office went to the Fulton Ave. Brewery and the other branches were eventually closed. Like many others during Prohibition, the company renamed itself Sterling Products Co. They made soft drinks, near beer, and malt extract (which was used by illicit homebrewers). It became Sterling Brewers Inc. after Prohibition was over in 1933. Sterling merged with the Associated Brewing Co. group of Michigan in 1968. Officially it was named Sterling Brewers Association. In 1972, G. Heileman Brewery (LaCrosse, WI) bought the company. The plant was used to make many of the brands they acquired from other breweries including Cooks from Evansville, Champagne Velvet from Terre Haute, and Drewrys from South Bend. Heileman closed the plant due to over capacity in its other plants and sold the brewery in 1988. The Evansville Brewing Company, led by three local investors, John Durnin, Mark Mattingly, and John Bzeznski, re-opened the brewery on September 21, 1988. The three founders wanted to retain the employee base of the plant of about 90 people, and the brewery had a 1,200,000 barrel annual capacity. By 1994, Evansville Brewing sold almost 40% of its beer overseas. The brewery declared bankruptcy and closed on October 1, 1997. The brands, including Sterling, were sold to Pittsburgh Brewing. The brewery was razed in December 1998 and now is a vacant lot. SEE MSS 157-0374 for another sketch view.