Located in an industrial strip between Pilsen, Chinatown and the South Loop, the Schoenhofen Building may be the oldest brick structure in Chicago. But the date of 1867, etched into the ornate brick façade, doesn’t represent the year it was built, only the year that Schoenhofen took sole control of the brewery. By 1900, the Prussian immigrant was brewing more than 190,000 gallons of beer a year, most under the Edelweiss brand. The water for the beer came from an artesian well, which has been capped but is still on the premises. While the brewery closed in 1972, much of the structure remains, including the cement archway which reads “Schoenhofen Brewery.” On the cornice in the western part of the complex is a six-pointed star. While many think the hexagram is the Star of David, it is a “Bierstern,” a German symbol of brewing purity which dates to the 1300s. Now registered in the National Register of Historic Places, the main buildings of the Schoenhofen Brewery Historic District have been updated with new windows and are part of a mixed office and residential complex. “Blues Brothers” fans, however, will miss one part of the original complex that has been torn down, the towering staircase from the “St. Helen of the Blessed Shroud Orphanage.” Located in the Normal Avenue portion, now closed to traffic, it was here that The Penguin pushed Jake and Elwood Blues down the stairs. At the bottom, both men came to the realization they were “on a mission from God.”
