Although it stopped producing beer in the 1890s, the Gipfel Union Brewery is the city's oldest existing brewery. (Steven Reyer)

Once threatened with demolition, the oldest surviving brewery in Milwaukee, the 1853 Gipfel Union, was relocated yesterday to a site one block away. The brick Federal-style building will be renovated as a restaurant in a new condo development.

The Gipfel Union Brewery, known for its white beer, was part of the city's Brewery Row. David and Carl Gipfel shut down their business in the 1890s, and the building became a soap factory and home to other manufacturing businesses.

In 1998, the city blocked the owner's plans to demolish the landmarked building.

In addition to a Wisconsin Historical Society grant, two developers chipped in for the five-hour move: The Bradley Center Sports & Entertainment Corporation, which has owned the building since 1999, and Ruvin Development, which will incorporate the city landmark into its new $160 million retail-office complex. Rob Ruvin is converting the 131-year-old Italianate Sydney Hih building into condos.

The city's historical preservation commission approved the five-hour move in October 2005.

"[Moving the Gipfel] actually did a better job of approximating its historical context than it was sitting in the parking lot surrounded by the Bradley Center," says Matt Jarosz, former chairman of preservation commission and director of the University of Wisconsin at Milwaukee's historic preservation program. "Only a block and a half away—that seemed as sensitive a move as one can think of. This is an important icon in the brewing capital of the country, so it seemed like a reasonable request."

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