The Hittleman name was added to the facade only after other figures had made their mark.
Edward Hittleman bought this building in the 1920s and renamed it after himself, but he was limited to producing near beer until the end of Prohibition. After a couple of decades of proper brewing and at least two changes of the brewery's name, the enterprise closed shortly after Hittleman's death, in 1951.
The brewery was arguably more successful during its first half-century, though few insignia remain from those early days. On the Mesorole St. side, but less prominent than the former "ice plant" and the decorative barrels and firkins, are a pair of archways bearing the letters "O" and "H" in their keystones. These are surely the initials of Otto Huber, who built the bottling plant shortly after the Civil War and whose family operated the business before selling to Hittleman. And on the smokestack above, "VD" points to F.H. Von Damm, like Huber a German immigrant, who reportedly operated a nearby grocery and whose family "went into the wholesale animal feed and fertilizer business." Perhaps they also helped supply the young brewery.
In 1988 this building bacame the first home of the Brooklyn Brewery, now well-established in Williamsburg. Twin Marquis, a maker of noodles and like products, now occupies the building, but brewing is not gone and forgotten: In a cooperative venture, Bruce Cost's rightfully celebrated ginger ales are also bottled on the premises. They may be free of alcohol, but they're a potent pairing for any spicy chow you might send their way.
Edward B. Hittleman Brewery
Bushwick Pl. at Meserole St., Bushwick, Brooklyn
