Overview

The Gluek Building is a remarkable example of the Beaux Arts style. It housed one of the city’s earliest businesses. 

• Location: 16 6th Street North 
• Neighborhood: Downtown West 

Historic profile

The Gluek Building is a remarkable example of the Beaux Arts style. It housed one of the city’s earliest businesses. 

In 1857, German immigrant Gottlieb Gluek founded the Gluek Brewing Company. He began making beer in caves on the north end of Nicollet Island. As the brewery grew, brewing operations moved to northeast Minneapolis.  

This building opened in 1902 as a bar and restaurant. They chose a strategic location in the busy downtown entertainment district. The building has a notable front elevation with carved terracotta. There are leafy pilaster capitals on the first story. Above the first story, there is a band of egg-and-dart trim and a row of waves. The third story and cornice have draped garlands with fruits and plants. 

Christopher Boehme and Victor Cordella designed the Gluek Building. They were known for decorative ornamentation. Their firm, Boehme and Cordella, also designed the Turnblad Mansion, now the American Swedish Institute. 

The Gluek Brewing Company sold this building in 1933 but continued to brew and sell beer until 1964. The G. Heileman Brewing Company of LaCrosse, Wisconsin bought the company. 

In 1989, a major fire gutted the building interior. The building was rebuilt to match the original design.