ULMER PARK LIBRARY, Bath Beach

by Kevin Walsh

THE Ulmer Park branch of the Brooklyn Public Library is named for an amusement park and beer garden opened in 1893 at the Bath Beach waterfront along Gravesend Bay by German immigrant beer baron William Ulmer as competition for Coney Island, but the venture never took off and it was closed during Prohibition (1920-1933). “Ulmer Park,” though, has inordinately survived as a place name, giving its name to a bus depot a few blocks away at Bath and 25th Avenues and this library.

Ulmer Brewery, Bushwick

Born in Wurttemberg in 1833, William Ulmer immigrated to New York in the 1850s to work with his two uncles, Henry Clausen Sr. and John F. Betz, in the brewing industry, eventually becoming the brewmaster for Clausen’s very successful New York firm. In 1871, Ulmer partnered with Anton Vigelius to form the Vigelius & Ulmer Continental Lagerbier Brewery on Belvidere and Beaver Streets in Bushwick, Brooklyn. Born in Bavaria, Anton Vigelius immigrated to Brooklyn in 1840 at the age of 18 and was involved in the produce business prior to opening the brewery. He purchased land at the corner of Beaver and Belvidere Streets from Abraham and Anna Debevoise in 1869. In 1877 Vigelius sold his share of the brewery to Ulmer. The building ceased to be used as a brewery at the dawn of Prohibition in 1920. Though compromised by time, its arched windows and details such as tie-rod caps stand the test of time. Currently awaiting true renovation, it’s home to offices and light manufacturing. Local “street artists” continue to tag its bottom floors.

Both the Ulmer brewery and offices still stand in the Bushwick Avenue area!

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4/4/22

5 comments

Allen Bennett April 5, 2022 - 12:22 am

Thank you for getting the name of the neighborhood correct. News outlets like NY1 like to call the area Gravesend, because some intern looks it up on Google Maps. Gravesend ends at Stillwell Avenue

Reply
Peter April 5, 2022 - 7:59 am

It’s hard to tell whether the old brewery is abandoned or not.

Reply
chris April 5, 2022 - 9:07 am

Every time they renovate an old building they also erase
the character and patina.They always end up looking brand
new.
The grafitti on the Ulmer building look like murals.Im beginning
to wonder what the difference between the two “art forms” are.

Reply
Cindy April 6, 2022 - 12:14 pm

Do you know what the story is with 30 Belvidere St.? ( (across from the old brewery building)

Reply
Gary Fonville April 9, 2022 - 9:49 pm

Was that Ulmer’s mansion at Bushwick & Willoughby in Brooklyn?

Reply

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