This week's Cornerspotter was all too easy for you buffs: the picture is indeed of the Bottling Plant for the Excelsior Brewing Company at 227 Pulaski Street in northern Bed-Stuy. At the turn of the twentieth century, Brooklyn was considered the beer-brewing capital of the country, hosting over 50 breweries, 25 of which were in Bushwick. According to a Brownstoner profile on the brewing company, Excelsior tried to survive through Prohibition by bottling "Near Beer," but ended up putting their plant up for sale in 1923. With no takers, the plant faltered on despite the little known bootlegging operation run out of the brewery by Depression-era gangster "Legs" Diamond. Excelsior, found out and with license revoked, finally found a buyer in Kings Brewery Company at the end of Prohibition. Today, the building has been razed to make room for the Pulaski Playground.
· Past and Present: The Excelsior Brewing Company of Bedford Stuyvesant ['Stoner]
· Hint: This Building Befell a Similar Fate To Many In Its Industry [Curbed]
· Cornerspotter archives [Curbed]
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