Gettelman brewery gets temporary historic designation

Milwaukee's Historic Preservation Commission voted unanimously Monday to give the Gettelman Brewery on the MillerCoors campus on State St. a temporary historic designation.

The ruling stops MillerCoors from demolishing the two oldest buildings remaining from the Gettelman brewery, which was established on Milwaukee's west side in 1856. MillerCoors said it needs the land for an employee parking lot and truck transit.

After the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that MillerCoors wanted to demolish the brewery on the northwest edge of the MillerCoors campus, David Boucher, co-owner of Amaranth Bakery, which is housed in a 1912 building on the city's west side, applied for the application for a temporary historic designation for the property.

RELATED: MillerCoors to demolish historic Gettelman brewery building

Representatives from the community spoke in favor of the designation at Monday's commission meeting, citing the brewery's pristine lagering cave built under the malting building and the fact that Frederick "Fritz" Gettelman invented several practical items, from the snowplow to the steel keg, from drawings he made in his office in the brewery — which originally was the Gettelman house. Fritz Gettelman's office was the room in which he was born.

Alderman Michael Murphy, who represents the district where MillerCoors is based, said he favored historic designation. He said he would like representatives from MillerCoors to meet with constituents about demolishing the building. He said an earlier meeting with MillerCoors referred to the property only as Building A and Building B.

Kelly Grebe, chief legal officer at MillerCoors, asked the commission to consider "what's important and relevant to history and Milwaukee." She pointed to other buildings on the campus as Gettelman buildings, including the employee health center. And she asked the commission to look at the current explosion of craft brewing in the city and consider if, 100 years from now, they would be "historically significant buildings."

The vote by the Historic Preservation Commission means that MillerCoors has five days to appeal the commission decision with the Common Council. The Common Council has 45 days from receipt of an appeal to review it.

Grebe said MillerCoors will explore its options.