Pabst....

....blue ribbon beer--part of the history of Milwaukee. 
In 1842,  2 brothers, Jacob & Charles Best, immigrated to America & settled here. Milwaukee was just a little frontier town at the time, but they saw lots of opportunities to make money, so they talked their father & 2 other brothers into investing in a brewery, which was fairly successful. 
In 1864 Frederick Pabst married one of the Best daughters & bought half ownership in the brewery, & eventually became sole owner. He was apparently an astute businessman who understood the importance of marketing his products; he built taverns from coast to coast which he leased out & which could only serve Pabst products. When he heard of the upcoming 1893 Columbian Exposition (also known as the World's Fair) in Chicago, he hired a noted architect & spent over $100,000 to design a trade pavilion for the fair that featured all the Pabst products. The exterior of the structure was washed in gold and was a big hit, as were his products, and after the Fair he had it disassembled & shipped to Milwaukee where he had it reassembled at his Milwaukee mansion, rebuilding it as a private conservatory.  (which, along with the mansion, is still sitting on Wisconsin Avenue--prime real estate back in the day!)
This shows some of the buildings that were part of the Pabst complex prior to it's closing (around 1997), with the name prominent above the  street! The complex was purchased for millions of dollars & is gradually being renovated into retail space, offices, & apartments. The building to the right has been totally redone inside & now houses a hotel & a couple of pubs. The building to the left is in the process of getting the bricks sandblasted back to their original cream city brick color & renovation inside is underway as well.
The building that is front left & somewhat resembles a castle was the corporate offices--the office of Frederick Pabst is still intact inside, but now it also has a gift shop, a tour office, the pub, & rooms that can be rented out for special occasions. Jen & I have taken the tour which focuses on the history of the company, & it was worth it just to see the inside, all of which was done in beautiful old oak!! Plus, at the end of the tour, you get.........free beer!!  What's not to like??    :))  
(score 1 for beer, AngelShare!)  :))))