Ebling's Brewery Ebling's brewery was still operating then, scenting the air with the strong but not unpleasant brewery smell. I never knew if the smell was malt or hops. The brewery occupied much of the area between Saint Ann's Avenue and Eagle Avenue south of 161st street and down to

156th Street. Ebling's was closed when a spectacular fire destroyed many of the buildings in the early fifties. The Daily News reported that the fire lasted for many hours and that fumes and heat overcame many firemen. I stood on the corner of Third and Saint Ann's Avenue watching as the firemen battled the blaze. They were high above Saint Ann's Avenue and so far back they seemed almost under Eagle Avenue. I later learned that caves under Eagle Avenue that were used to age the beer. That night the firemen were actually fighting the fire in these caves under Eagle Avenue. Ebling's also was involved in another mystery place in my childhood. The company built a dance hall, Ebling's Casino, on the corner of Saint Ann's Avenue and 156th Street. It was not large but was beautifully decorated with blue mosaic tiles as far inside as I could see from the street. I don't remember it ever being opened. It stood unused for years, a place of intrigue to me. At that time and place dance halls and restaurants were rarities. I often gazed into this mystery place with its beautiful mosaic walls and imagined ghostly guests reveling in a timeless party.

I found the following piece about the history of Ebling's on the "The Bronx in History" web site:

"It was built in 1866 by Philip and Wilhelm Ebling, who introduced their German methods of malt-making to a population heavily German in composition and already well disposed to the pastime of drinking beer. The brothers called their establishment the Aurora Park Brewery as it was built upon the site of a picnic ground of that name.

Ebling's Brewery became so well known that gradually its official name, Aurora Park, was discarded. In the 1880s, approximately 550 people were employed there, and the brewmasters lived in fine richly-ornamented brick homes on Eagle Ave. Incidentally, these houses are still standing at E. 156th St.

Records from 1888 credit the brewery with 37,000 barrels of lager beer and 20,000 more of ale. The brothers also manufactured a malt tonic which became their mainstay when Prohibition came into effect in 1919. The number of employees dropped to 100 and these were engaged in making ice cream and 'near-beer' as well as the tonic.

The hill behind the brewery, topped by Eagle Ave., had been dug out to form caverns and there the beer had been stored and aged."

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