Frederick Pabst

Frederick Pabst (March 28, 1836–January 1, 1904) was a German-American brewer, born in Saxony, Germany. In 1848, he emigrated with his parents to Chicago. There he became, first a hotel waiter, then a cabin-boy on a Lake Michigan steamer. Eventually, he became a captain of one of these vessels. In this last capacity, he met a German, Phillip Best, the owner of a small but prosperous brewery founded in 1844 in Milwaukee, and married his daughter.

In 1862, Pabst was taken into partnership in his father-in-law's brewery and began to study the details of the business. After obtaining a thorough mastery of the art of brewing, Pabst turned his attention to extending the market for the beer and before long had raised the output of the Best brewery to 100,000 barrels a year. The brewery was eventually converted into a public company and its capital repeatedly increased in order to cope with the continually increasing trade. He became president of the corporation in 1873. Later, the brewing company's name was changed to the Pabst Brewing Company.

In 1889, Pabst spent $30,000 to take advantage of prime shoreline along Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin's unique location, just north of the city of Milwaukee, by developing a popular lakeshore resort, which he called the Pabst Whitefish Bay Resort.

As many as 10,000 visitors would come to the resort on a summer day by horse and buggy, railroad, trolley or excursion steamer. They came to enjoy the scenic view, to ride the ferris wheel, attend daily concerts (double concerts on Sunday), rent row boats, watch outdoor movies, drink Pabst's beer and dine on fine fare, including five types of whitefish netted daily in the adjoining bay. The resort's popularity faded in 1914 at the start of World War I and the park was closed. In 1915 the land was subdivided into residential lots.

The brewing company's renowned "Blue Ribbon" label was introduced in the 1890s. The beer's name resulted from the blue ribbon that was awarded to it at the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition.

Pabst built a thirteen-story Pabst Building in downtown Milwaukee, rebuilt various theaters and also helped organized the Wisconsin National Bank, in 1893. Pabst purchased the old Nunnemacher Grand Opera House, located opposite the Milwaukee City Hall, in 1890, and turned it into the "Das Neue Deutsche Stadt-Theater" (The New German City Theater), but it was destroyed in a fire. Pabst ordered it rebuilt at once and the newly-named Pabst Theater opened in 1895. It still is in use today.

The Pabst Mansion along Wisconsin Avenue is a well-known Milwaukee tourist attraction and was the Pabst family home from 1892-1908.

Pabst is buried at Forest Home Cemetery in Milwaukee.

References

*1911
*NIE

External links

* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=Pabst&GSbyrel=all&GSdy=1904&GSdyrel=in&GSob=n&GRid=783&pt=Fred%20Pabst& Find-A-Grave Fred Pabst]
* [http://www.americanbreweriana.org/history/pabst.htm History of Pabst Brewing Company]