Old Lone Star Brewery

The former Lone Star Brewery complex was constructed between 1895 and 1904 by the St. Louis architectural firm of E. Jungenfeld and Co., who had designed all of the Anheuser-Busch brewery facilities in St. Louis, MO, along with local San Antonio architects James Wahrenberger and Albert Felix Beckman.  The Lone Star Brewing Company was established in 1883 by San Antonio businessmen John Henry Kampmann and Edward Hope on Jones Avenue (at that time called Grand Avenue).  The facility was close to the Sunset Depot on the city’s near east side for easy rail transport. 

By 1900 the company had greatly increased operations with distribution throughout the state and soon became the largest brewery in Texas.  To keep up with demand, large-scale additions were undertaken, and many new brick buildings were designed to replace older wooden structures.  Adolphus Busch, of the St. Louis Anheuser-Busch brewing empire, was involved financially in the Lone Star Brewing Company and served as President for a number of years during this time of expansion. The company continued to thrive until Prohibition, when operations were converted to the manufacture of "Tango," a non-alcoholic drink. Throughout the mid-twentieth century, the facility was largely utilized for warehouse and storage purposes.   
 
The complex was acquired by the San Antonio Museum Association in the 1970s and opened as the Museum of Art in 1981.  Chartered in 1925, the San Antonio Museum Association was dissolved in 1994, and the museum was reorganized as the San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA).  The museum collection includes a broad range of art representing various world cultures.

Excerpted from National Register Nomination: Old Lone Star Brewery, 1972. Texas Historical Commission.