Here is a beautiful stein from the Julius Wehmueller Saloon which was at 18th and Market streets in downtown St. Louis, MO prior to prohibition. The stein itself features a beautiful image of the train station and not of Mr. Wehmueller’s business which I find of note also. The interesting thing about this saloon was that it literally stood right across the street from what was once the second busiest train depot station in the U.S., behind only Grand Central in NYC. Travelers from across the U.S. cut through the center of the U.S. via Union Station to and from the east and west coasts at that time. This particular stein has the notation of Union Station and the saloons locale from the station duly noted on the stein itself. As a result, travelers would have no problem finding this busy establishment even when worn out from a long travel adventure.
Julius Wehmueller was established at 1801 Market Street around 1900 from what I can tell. He was a young saloon owner, but was quite successful given the free giveaways of his stein as shown here, and the postcards which show the interior of his successful business at that time. The back bar and lighted chandeliers certainly demonstrated a class of saloons often not found in bars of that era in the early 1900 era. Unfortunately like all the other businesses in this segment, the start of prohibition in 1920 simply ran them out of business. By the mid 1930’s this entire block was torn down and is now the site of the “Meeting of the Waters” monument across from Union Station. The monument represents the meeting of both the Mississippi and Missouri rivers which is just north of the city of St. Louis city limits. If you have any Wehmueller stein’s for sale, I am always looking for more for a display!