{"nrhp_refnum":"80003222","name":"Mueller Brewery","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"146-164 Riverside Dr.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Tiffin","county":"Seneca County","state":"OH","lat":41.11977484000005,"lon":-83.17253231799998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-01-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-story brick brewery building with a later four-story front section and several one-story additions, at 146-164 Riverside Drive in Tiffin, Ohio. Christ Mueller built it in 1854 along the Sandusky River.","why_significant":"It is one of a group of early industrial buildings in Tiffin and is tied to the city's brewing trade, which served a large German population. The brewery's tunnel to the river, its cooper's pond and its later reuse by a scenic studio show how the site changed over time. The form notes that Mueller and Val Schmidt founded what the 1886 county history calls the first lager beer brewery in Ohio.","narrative":"This brick brewery on Riverside Drive in Tiffin, Ohio, was built in 1854 by Christ Mueller beside the Sandusky River. The rear three-story section is original. A fire in the early 1900s destroyed the front, and a four-story section with stone-trimmed windows and arcading replaced it, along with one-story additions. Mueller and Val Schmidt had started a lager beer brewery in 1848, described in an 1886 county history as the first in Ohio, and Mueller built this larger plant to serve the city's German population. Philip Grummel bought it in 1885, and from 1889 to 1915 it operated as the Tiffin Brewing Company. Prohibition ended brewing, and the Grummels later ran an ice and beverage business there. A tunnel once carried beer to the river, and later it was used to grow mushrooms. Tiffin Scenic Studios moved in during 1925 and now occupies the building, where some of its original stage rigging remains. A former stable and the site of a cooper's pond are part of the property.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"Christ Mueller (builder of the 1854 brewery)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"The main building is occupied entirely by Tiffin Scenic Studios, which makes stage scenery, drapes and rigging. The former stable is used as a metal and wood shop and a photography studio.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:53:12.395431-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_OH/80003222.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003222/01276c154c-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80003222/01276c154c-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Nyttend","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mueller_Brewery.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Nyttend</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Mueller_Brewery.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/71986162","wikipedia":null,"wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q138678692"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/ohio/seneca-county/mueller-brewery-80003222/"}