Beginning in the mid-1880s, Peter Schoenhofen was among a group of brewers in Chicago who transformed production methods and utilized expanding transportation options.

The Schoenhofen Brewery was typical of the region, although enterprises were not located in the city center, but along the new rail lines.

( 2000 ) [2] [3] Seventeen buildings once occupied the site when the brewery reached maximum capacity in 1910 at 1,200,000 barrels a year.

[3] Two of the remaining buildings demonstrate the change in architectural styles that occurred at the turn of the century in the United States.

[3] The brewery district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 27, 1978 and the Administration Building and Powerhouse were later designated Chicago Landmarks on July 13, 1988.