First phase of Brewhouse tower repairs foreshadow a new Tumwater
The city of Tumwater has completed the first phase of reconstruction on the historic Olympia Brewery brewhouse on the Deschutes River, patching up holes in the facade and replacing damaged brick with new specialty bricks.
Built in 1906, the brewhouse sits below the Schmidt House on the east bank of the Deschutes River. The brewhouse tower is an iconic Tumwater landmark that can be seen from Tumwater Historical Park and from Interstate 5.
For years, when people looked at the tower, they saw a crumbling, empty and bruised building. When the project is complete, they’ll see the tower returned to its former glory and brought into the 21st century.
“This has been a dream for me and for the community for decades,” said Tumwater Mayor Pete Kmet. “To be able to look at the external part of the structure and see what progress we made, it’s really exciting. I’m thrilled with the work that’s been done so far.
“I think it’s a great first step in bringing this back as something the community will be able to use and be proud of. It’s part of our heritage. The brewery was the heartbeat of Tumwater for so many years and it would be great to restore that feeling.”
The first step in reconstructing and repairing the tower was to replace old bricks that had been eroded by rain or structurally compromised by other forces of time and nature. Tumwater wanted to make sure the masonry used in the repairs would match and blend with the building’s original facade, so the city ordered four different colors of bricks in a special size to mimic bricks from the early 20th century, said city of Tumwater spokesperson Ann Cook.
The attention to detail did not end there: The grout used when laying the bricks was created to match the original grout work too. It took a few tries to get everything to match just right, said Cook, explaining crews discovered a tiny bit of black sand in the grout-mixture that needed to be there for accuracy.
The fifth-floor roof was redone and new gutters and windows were added the the tower. Luckily the original roof on the sixth-floor was still intact and had no damage to it, although a barn owl or two has made it their home and the floor its bathroom. Tumwater has put up owl boxes in some of the surrounding trees to draw them out of the building.
Earlier in the summer, two people set fire to the inside of the building. Cook said the men set fire to reclaimed wood from the building, and the fire caused no damage and did not impede the progress of making repairs. Not all of the reclaimed wood was burned, and what remains will be displayed in the brew tower when it is complete.
The long-term vision
The city of Tumwater’s plans for the tower are still being developed, but Cook made it clear, “Our goal is to have public access [and] public use” because “you want the building to continue to tell its story,” she said.
Kmet and Cook plan to have one of the tower floors dedicated to the brewery’s history and the history of brewing in Tumwater. “We’re still working on the program, but we will have interpretive experience for people,” Cook said. “It will likely be a combination of many things: brewing history; the local area; the natural environment here; the indigenous peoples.”
Because of the building’s vertical structure, Mayor Kmet envisions that “each of the floors will likely have a different use.”
Other ideas for the building’s six floors include a community space where events and meetings can be held. Cook also is interested in having “some craft brewers do a tasting room on the weekends.” Jokingly, she also suggested an oyster and whiskey bar on the first floor of the building. “There’s a lot of big ideas and vision,” she said.
More building work
Before the building’s new amenities are decided on, the tower itself must go through another five phases of construction and repairs, the next of which will be retrofitting the building with proper seismic safeguards and infrastructure, Cook said.
Following that, the interior of the building will be restored; the original tile floors will be cleaned, interior walls will be repaired and re-tiled, the road that leads to the tower will need to be paved, and a new elevator and staircase will be put in for ADA accessibility.
To complete all the phases of construction, the city would like to match the money they have acquired through grants with donations. The city estimates the cost of the brewhouse tower restoration project will be $6.5 million and it has already spent roughly $2.2 million on the first phase.
“That’s our major need right now: raising some capital so we can continue with the restoration project,” Kmet said.
While no deadline is set, the city plans for the restoration to be complete and the tower open to the public sometime between 2024 and 2026.
Restoring the brew tower is one part of a larger, ambitious plan for central Tumwater: Not only does Kmet want to fix the tower and other old brewery property near the Schmidt House, he also wants to build a trail connecting the east side of the river with the west side. The trail, which is currently under construction, will connect Brewery Falls Park, Tumwater Historic Park and follow the Deschutes River south to Pioneer Park.
Ultimately the trail would link the brewhouse tower, parks and surrounding neighborhoods with the Olympia Woodland Trail, Kmet said.
Kmet hopes the restoration project will spur the owners of the surrounding Olympia Brewery buildings to revitalize their properties as well.
Restoring the tower, Kmet said, “is clearly a bite-size chunk that could be started and would really kick off the rest of the property as well.” While he expects the project to continue to develop and evolve, he believes “if the community steps forward and helps us out, anything is possible.”
Part of something bigger
Since 2014, Mayor Kmet and the city of Tumwater have been implementing an economic development strategy for a new brewing district on Capitol Boulevard. The plan, if implemented, would see the Craft District of Tumwater revitalized as a pedestrian-friendly downtown.
This means the city will need to slow down traffic on busy Capitol Boulevard. To do so, the city plans to extend E Street —which connects Capitol Boulevard to the I-5 on-ramp and leads down to the newer brewery building — and connect it with Cleveland Avenue. Several roundabouts would also be installed to slow traffic in the area.
With a roundabout on E street, cars will come off of I-5 at Exit 103 onto E street and then enter the roundabout which will intersect Capitol Boulevard. After construction, E Street would continue east, through the modern brewery, eventually connecting with another to-be built roundabout on Cleveland Avenue next to the Washington State Department of Agriculture building, a 2014 Thurston County Regional Planning Committee and City of Tumwater document, “Brewery District Plan,” shows.
By creating new entry points to the new downtown and connecting it to the residential neighborhoods to the east, Tumwater hopes more traffic coming through town would slow down and take a look at what’s around.
Lanes on Capitol Boulevard would also be reduced to make space for bike paths and sidewalk, Cook said. The hope is the area will look favorable to new, small businesses, including craft brewers.
Cook said, “The city’s long-range plan to revitalize the brewing district is to build on the legacy of brewing and the Olympia Brewery.” Tumwater wants to bring brewing back in a “sustainable” way by having small craft breweries and cider makers occupy the downtown area, rather than having a large company move in — something Cook said is unsustainable.
The restructuring of the brewing district in Tumwater is a major part of the city’s economic development strategy. Cook said the strategy will “replace jobs that were lost [when the brewery shut down in 2003], revitalize the area and bring in new life to those brewery properties.”
Tumwater is getting help from South Puget Sound Community College’s new brewing programs and marketplace building on Capitol Boulevard, which will have shops and restaurants in it, giving it a similar feel to 222 Chelsea Market in downtown Olympia, Cook said.
“We want to cultivate makers and provisioners of craft,” Cook told The Olympian, “to rebuild that area of downtown and really celebrate what’s local and authentic — that’s part of what gives a community its identity. The idea of Tumwater craft is not limited to just brewers, it’s a type of work and art and activities that give you a sense of place that are unique to Tumwater.”
This story was originally published August 16, 2020 at 5:45 AM.