Magnolia Brewery Building

Significance

Built in 1912, the Magnolia Brewery Building is the last remaining structure of what was once the largest brewery complex in the American South, an industrial operation that reflected Houston's growing population and commercial diversification in the early twentieth century. Constructed of commercial brick in a Renaissance Revival influenced style, the building sits near Allen's Landing on Buffalo Bayou, the site where the Allen brothers founded Houston in 1836, linking the brewery's industrial history to the city's founding geography. Prohibition forced the original brewery operations to cease, and the surviving structure later found new uses as the surrounding Warehouse District evolved into a nightlife and entertainment area. Its survival offers a tangible connection to Houston's early industrial economy and to Buffalo Bayou's central role in the city's commercial development.

Climate risks tracked

Sitting directly on the banks of Buffalo Bayou near Allen's Landing, the Magnolia Brewery Building faces significant storm surge and urban flooding risk, since this stretch of the bayou has overtopped its banks repeatedly, most severely during Hurricane Harvey in 2017 when downtown's Buffalo Bayou corridor saw record flooding. Its early twentieth century unreinforced brick walls and original wood framing are vulnerable to sustained water saturation, which promotes humidity and mold problems in ground floor spaces long after floodwaters recede. The building's proximity to the bayou means even moderate rain events can raise water levels enough to threaten its lowest structural elements.

Use the preservation assistant to talk through retrofit strategies for these specific threats.

Location

Nearby landmarks

• 1913 · Beaux-Arts

  Rice Hotel

• 1926 · Spanish Renaissance Revival

  Julia Ideson Building

• 1927 · Italian Renaissance Revival

  Niels Esperson Building

• 1924 · Commercial / Chicago School

  Sam Houston Hotel