"An enterprising, German-born man named Mortiz Sigi opened a new brewhouse in 1866 in the recently incorporated city of Denver, Colorado (1861). This edifice became one of the first of 12 historical buildings that remain in Denver today. The business launched in the popular area of Auraria, a small settlement founded by gold miners from Auraria, Georgia. In 1870, Sigi's Brewery morphed into the Colorado Brewery. Innovative as ever, Sigi put in an artesian well, providing clean, clear water for the beer well into the 20th century.
After Sigi's tragic death in 1879, Max Meishimer took over the brewery buildings, renaming them Milwaukee Brewery. He added structures, including the noted tower building. John Good assumed ownership in 1900. At that time, he renamed the business Tivoli after the well-known amusement park in Copenhagen, Denmark. One year later, this establishment joined the Union Brewery, becoming the Tivoli-Union Brewery. Good's son John Edward took over in 1918. He surprisingly kept the place going during Prohibition by producing "Dash," a cereal beer.
A woman, Loraine Good, became the owner of the complex in 1931 when her husband, John Edward, died. This outsider from New York City ruled from afar in Palm Beach, Florida. She imported Head Brewers from New York to run the place. In a distinctive move, the Tivoli Tower's brick red was painted white. In the 1950s, the brewery produced up to 150,000 barrels a year, sold from Wyoming to Texas, Missouri to California.
When Loraine passed away in 1965, the brothers Carl and Joseph Occhiatio purchased the Tivoli-Union Brewery. Besought with troubles, they closed the brewery's doors four years later (April 1969). Their tenure started with the nearby Platte River flooding in 1965. Wage disputes erupted along with the establishment's first labor strikes in 1966. Lasting six weeks, the business never fully recovered. The brewery would never again open in this capacity. Thankfully, the Tivoli buildings and brewing equipment were saved in 1973 when the complex was added to the National Registry of Historical Places.
Communal Nature
The site always provided more than just good beer. The communal nature of the Tivoli Brewery started in its early decades. By 1870, Sigi's establishment provided space for the Turnvein, the German gymnastics society. Beginning in 1879 under the ownership of Max Meishimer, a corner store, the tower building, Turn Halle Opera House, and adjacent buildings were added to the brewery's community. This collective nature came back full circle in 1994 when Tivoli reopened as the student center for the Auraria campus, serving three colleges. In addition to student services, the complex incorporates shops, restaurants and a food court. The Starz Film Center joined the group in 2002." (from (
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Visit (
visit link) for photos of the brewery in the 1970s when it was still painted white.
The building has been renovated by Hellmuth, Obata and Kassabaum in the 1980s and added as a vibrant facility to Denver's Auraria Higher Education Campus (AHEC). The NRHP listing needs to be corrected under Current Function as the building has been occupied since the 1980s. The original NRHP Nomination Form may be found at
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As this is a campus for three higher education institutions, parking can be problematic.