Submitted by Mayor Justin Nickels
There is no doubt that the iconic “Budweiser Bottles” at the end of Washington Street have been a staple of our community – for most of us – our entire lives. Anheuser Busch was a major company in our community for decades and they proudly displayed their logos on the massive silos. Prior to that, Rahr Malting occupied the facilities and proudly displayed their logos. Check out the photos of the history of this facility.
All of us are, for the most part, emotionally tied to something being there. And for most of us, we know nothing more than the beer bottles. We’ve taken our picture in front of them. They are highlighted on our postcards. They remind us of our rich history being a worldwide leader in the brewing industry. Tourists are immediately attracted to them.
Well Manitowoc, the time has come for Briess Malt & Ingredients Co. who now owns and occupies the facilities to display their logo and design with our community. While it may pain some of us to see the current logo gone, I hope we can all appreciate and respect what was there – but set our focus on the future. Briess is an amazing company that is investing in our community and creating many opportunities for Manitowoc and its residents. They want to support all the positive changes that are happening downtown. Briess’ story is the next chapter for our community – and for these silos.
It’s time to get our final photos to honor the past and begin to embrace the future.
Briess plans on putting up their new vinyl design around the week of October 21st. They are not removing the painted mural that is on the building today, they will be placing the new large vinyl over it (much like the previous vinyl from Anheuser Busch). We are not sharing the design yet – we want to have an element of surprise for the community!
