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THE BAVARIAN BREWERY EXHIBITS
& THE RIEDLIN-SCHOTT COMMUNITY ROOM

The Cincinnati area has a proud brewing heritage. One of the most significant vestiges of a Pre-Prohibition brewery that remains in the area today is the historic Bavarian Brewery. In conjunction with its preservation and reuse as the Kenton County Government Center, efforts have been made to connect this former brewery to its interesting past. The brewery was founded in 1866, but has an association with a brewery in the Over The Rhine (OTR) area of Cincinnati from the 1840s. To celebrate this history, exhibits were created on the first and second level of the former Brew House and the Riedlin-Schott Community Room was established on the second floor, as described below.

A Brewery Wall As A Storyboard

Upon entering the Kenton County Government Center, a main attraction is a giant storyboard of the Bavarian Brewery, measuring 30 feet long and several feet wide, resembling a mirror image of the main structure that consisted of the Brew, Mill and Stock Houses. It tells the 150+ year old history of the brewery property with 22 windows, 61 frames and some 90 photos and images with accompanying descriptions. There is also A Tribute to the many men and women who worked at the Bavarian Brewery. It includes dozens of worker photos and there is a Timeline plaque summarizing  major brewery and national / global events over more than a dozen time periods. These periods correspond to the History section of this web site. In addition, there is an acrylic board with 18 graphics and a monitor. Next to it is a barrel display exhibiting over 40 brewery artifacts and former advertising memorabilia.  Diagrams of the exhibits and the display are below. They were unveiled at the dedication of the Kenton County office complex on November 15, 2019. Experience a virtual tour of the first floor exhibits, which is best viewed on a laptop / desktop computer or tablet. These permanent exhibits and the displays are available for public viewing during workdays (Monday-Friday) from 8 am to 5 pm.  It is conveniently located off of I-75 and adjacent to the lobby entrance. To personally view the exhibits, please see Contact / Visit Us  for directions to the Kenton County Government Center.

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The Riedlin-Schott Community Room & Its Hallway Entrance

For Meetings, Events and Conferences In the Former & Historical Bavarian Brewery

Just as the Bavarian Brewery provided areas (in the former Rathskeller and Tap Room) for the community to meet for special occasions used by different civic groups, companies and families), Kenton County is also providing a space for such uses. It is called the Riedlin-Schott (Community) Room, named after the families that owned and operated the brewery for over 80 years. It is situated on the second floor of the south wing of the Kenton County Government Center, in what was formerly the offices of the Bavarian Brewery. To access the Riedlin-Schott Room, as shown in the photos below, it is necessary to use either of two adjacent elevators from the lobby to the second floor, and then cross an atrium bridge to a hallway. ​The hallway leading to the Riedlin-Schott Room is across the bridge and past the double doors.

 

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​THE HALLWAY to the Riedlin-Schott Room begins where the brew kettle was formerly situated. On one side are a couple display cabinets containing numerous brewery artifacts. Opposite it are 1911 doors from the Brew House made of cypress wood with photos in their windows that show the equipment used on each of the building's five floors for brewing, along with a graphic next to the doors explaining the brewing process. On a wall before passing the employee elevator, there are large aerial photos c. 1950 of the brewery property identifying about a dozen buildings that created the brewery complex.

Views of the display cabinets are shown below. Between the cabinets are a set of doors that lead to a loading dock. It provides an easy way to provide catering to events or custom decorations to the Riedlin-Schott Room.