Greetings and Salutations my most humble and noble Thursdians,
Here we are again on the very precipice of Thursday night; as the sun goes down, we get out! I very much look forward to sharing in good tales and honorable libations with all of you. We will indeed be journeying to The Yard for the second time. The first time was a memorable one with an amazing crowd and amazing weather – lets hope for more of the same! The Yard is attached to the famous Iron Horse Hotel. Not only are their cocktails amazing, but the atmosphere is simply one of the best in all of Milwaukee. Oh and for all of you Thursdians that have furry friends, The Yard is also pet-friendly! The views are top notch and if you are lucky enough to be there as the sun goes down, you are in for quite the treat.
There’s an awesome, hidden uniqueness to our Thursday night location this week. For starters, the Iron Horse wasn’t always a hotel. In early 1907 the building was commissioned by William Berger and became the Berger Bedding Company. The name “Iron Horse” comes from a historic train launch in 1907.
The month was November and it was the year of the World’s Pure Food Exposition in Chicago. All of the greatest breweries made an appearance at this exposition and America had never been a threat up until this year. This was the year that Milwaukee was going to shock the world by sending Old Milwaukee, but there was one problem: in 1907, Milwaukee had suffered a great shortage of steel and aluminum so Old Milwaukee had to be stored in glass kegs. There were many concerns about transporting the great elixir in such a fragile carrying case. This is of course where the Berger Bedding Company came into play. Thirty-eight Berger mattresses were used to line the train car holding the beautiful golden brew. The next problem was finding a train, but in the end, there was only one train to do this job: nicknamed “The Iron Horse”, this train was the first to run in Wisconsin in 1851 from Milwaukee to Waukesha.
The beer was kegged and brought to the loading yard. Upon departure the mayor of Milwaukee, Sherburn M. Becker honored the historic day by making the loading yard an official historic landmark. Old Milwaukee single-handedly swept the competition and shook the foundations of breweries everywhere. The rest, of course, is history.
Cheers My Friends!
Your Founder and Friend,
Jeremy Blandin
*Keeping your glass filled and spirits high one Thursday at a time, this is Welcome to Thursdays: a local social group determined to make your Thursdays more fun. Each week, The Squeaky Curd features a Milwaukee County bar that we gather at on Thursday evening. Join us Thursday, June 28, 2018 at The Yard at The Iron Horse, 500 W Florida St (Walker’s Point), at 7:30pm.*