Milwaukee Pabst Brewery owner saved historic site on 9/11
Milwaukee Pabst Brewery owner saved historic site on Sept. 11, 2001
As the Twin Towers fell 25 years ago, a piece of Milwaukee history changed hands. Jim Haertel and his family worked to buy and save the historic Pabst Brewery from demolition. Haertel sent the purchase agreement on Sept. 11, 2001, and raised $11 million in one year.
MILWAUKEE - Beer is in his blood.
"Milwaukee born and raised. I mean everyone loved PBR," said Jim Haertel, owner of The Best Place at Historic Pabst Brewery.
Facing demolition
The backstory:
The Historic Pabst Brewery was facing a potential tear-down back in 2001. Haertel was not going to let that happen. He and his family worked to get an accepted offer to buy the building. The only thing was the timing.
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"Imagine working for 2.5 years. It is finally that day," Haertel said. "You got the money, you got the agreement, you’re ready to send it and the World Trade Center is coming down."
On Sept. 11, 2001, Haertel reflected on the uncertainty.
"It’s like, you got to back out," Haertel said. "You can’t do this…you can’t."
Haertel followed his gut and the American dream on a day America was falling to the ground.
"At 1:30 in the afternoon, I took a Pabst, and I hit that fax send button," Haertel said. "We’re not giving in to the terrorists. We’re not giving up our dreams, and we are going after the Pabst Blue Ribbon."
He and his family raised $11 million in a year, bringing the community together to do so with the country united too.
"We didn’t give in to the terrorists, and we didn’t give up our dream and now our dreams have come true," Haertel said.
25 years later
What we know:
During brewery tours, a model of the twin towers shows guests that part of the history. 25 years later, The Best Place at Historic Pabst Brewery stands strong. And so does the beer. A piece of Milwaukee preserved and still pouring.
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"We don’t celebrate 9/11, but we commemorate 9/11 because we’re tied to that fateful day," Haertel said.
The brewery is doing a special tour on Sept. 11.
Portions of this article were formatted using A.I. FOX6’s Christina Van Zelst and an editor reviewed it for accuracy and tone prior to publishing.
The Source: Information in this story was gathered from Jim Haertel, The Best Place at Historic Pabst Brewery, and FOX6 News reporting.