Charles Storz House
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
This home was owned by Charles Storz (1859-1932), he and his brother built the famous brewery company in Omaha that was known as Storz Brewery. Charles Storz house on 1901 Wirt Street, Kountze Place neighborhood in North Omaha, Nebraska. He came to Omaha, Nebraska from Wurtemberg, Germany and how he arrived in Omaha in May of 1882 about six years after his brother Gottlieb Storz did.
Storz Brewing Company was the top selling brand in Nebraska during the beginning of World War II. Storz was one of the "Big Four", the Big Four was the four major brewers that was located in Omaha, Nebraska. Besides Storz, there was Krug, Willow Springs, and Metz.
Images
Omaha World-Herald Newspaper, October 12, 1932
Charles Storz House
Omaha Brewing Association, Storz brewery workers, 1895
Storz beer outdoor advertising on Harney Street, 1938, Omaha, Nebraska
Storz Note Book, 1906
Storz Note Book, 1906 (inside)
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
This home was owned by Charles Storz (1859-1932), he and his brother built the famous brewery company in Omaha that was known as Storz Brewery. Charles Storz was running several tied houses across the Omaha area until the federal law changed it where it was illegal for breweries to have tied houses. So, Charles Storz started to manage his pubs at the sites of the breweries, this Storz Pub was known as a “soft drink parlor” this was during the prohibition era and continued to run it till he was in a serious car accident that forced him to retire in 1929. In 1909, the house on 1901 Wirt Street was built by 50-year-old Charles Storz, he built this beautiful house due to celebrating his success in the brewery business. This beautiful house is a three-story home with five bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a total of ten rooms throughout the entire house.
Storz Brewing Company was the top selling brand in Nebraska during the beginning of World War II. Storz was one of the "Big Four", the Big Four was the four major brewers that was located in Omaha, Nebraska. Besides Storz, there was Krug, Willow Springs, and Metz. During the year 1891, Storz founded the company called the Omaha Brewing Association which is seen in the pictures below. This company operated by making beer and Storz named himself as the president of Omaha Brewing Association.
During the rise to be number one of the brewing business Storz faced a lot of troubles being both political and social with alcohol consumption by religious and moral organizations that were in the Midwest. During the battle, they fought with the prohibition of alcohol by organizing the Omaha Brewing Association, the National German - American Alliance, and working with many other organizations as well. Storz Brewery went through several legal battles, the worst being the statewide prohibition amendment in 1916. When this law came into full affect in 1917, it banned alcoholic beverages and made it where there could be no more alcohol sold in the state of Nebraska. This hit Storz Brewery very hard and made the company have to lay off majority of it's workers in 1920.
Storz Brewery has had many reopening's and closing throughout it's history, they reopened in 1934 and started making beer again till the death of Gottlieb Storz in 1939 (Charles Storz's brother). Later through the years Robert Storz became the president of the company in the 50s - 60s, till 1972 when they officially closed the brewery permanently after selling the company to Grain Belt Breweries. However on August 8, 2013, Storz Brewery was reopened again in Omaha, Nebraska by Thomas Markel and John Markel. However it didn't last long till they shut the doors for good this time in 2015, when they failed to pay rent and the property taxed for the brewery.
The Omaha World - Herald stated, "The Storz brewery pumped out 43 million gallons of beer a year and produced one - third of all the beer sold in Nebraska in 1960. Arthur C. Storz Sr. sold the company in 1966. It went out of business in 1972".
Sources
Omaha World-Herald Newspaper, October 12, 1932
Omaha Brewing Association group photo, 1895
Photograph of a liquor store in Omaha, Nebraska on Harney Street advertising Storz beer, 1938
Storz Note Book, 1906
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Book
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