Yakel House and Union Brewery
Also known as: Netzhammer House and Bluff City Brewery
Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
On a triangular 4.8-acre site in Alton, Illinois, a brick house and a cluster of brewery buildings record more than a century of German-American enterprise. Philip Yakel arrived from Germany in 1836 and founded Alton's first brewery, the Union Brewery. His son George built the two-and-a-half-story brick house in 1863, with a center hall, high second-floor ceilings and an ornamented iron balcony. In 1882 William Netzhammer, a brewmaster from Baden, Germany, bought the property and renamed the business Bluff City Brewery. Beer was made until wartime restrictions in 1918, and during Prohibition the brewery was licensed to produce near-beer. Brewing resumed in 1933 and stopped in 1952 when refrigeration machinery failed. The thirteen buildings include early stone structures from the 1830s and 1840s, a prominent 1860s brick packing-washroom building, and 1930s warehouse and office buildings. Only two families owned the property, and its hillside setting keeps the look of a separate enclave.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it an excellent, well-preserved example of a mid-19th century family-owned brewery complex built and run by German immigrants. Only two owner families held it over about 145 years. The brewery buildings show industrial design changing over 116 years, and the house is a fine example of vernacular brick construction with German antecedents.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 82002585, listed May 11, 1982. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 1421--1431 Pearl St., Alton |
|---|---|
| County | Madison County |
| Listed | May 11, 1982 |
| Reference number | 82002585 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 (house 1863; brewery from 1836) |
| Architectural style | Vernacular brick construction with German antecedents (house); industrial brewery buildings |
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | The house was vacant for a few years in the 1970s and since May 1980 has been used as a not-for-profit alcoholism rehabilitation center. The brewery closed in 1952; the house is in good condition, the brewery in fair condition, and the boiler room building is in poor condition. |
| Acreage | 4.8 |
| Coordinates | 38.89253, -90.16449 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 82002585.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16903904
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.