It will be a history museum with a view — and a set of flowing beer taps nearby.
The Brewseum, a long-awaited project of the Onondaga Historical Association, plans to open this fall at the Heritage Hill Brewhouse at Palladino Farms high in the hills of Pompey.
It’s a space that will feature photos and artifacts showcasing the legacy of beer and brewing in the Syracuse area, plus a shop for historically themed merchandise. It will be located in a new wing built on one side of Heritage Hill, a brewery-restaurant that opened in October 2018 at 3149 Sweet Road.
Opening is tentatively set for Oct. 7.
The Brewseum has been in the planning stages for several years, but the location is a major change.
The OHA originally considered a space near Interstate 81 and Butternut Street on the city’s North Side, the home of many of the city’s historic breweries dating back to the 1800s. Then the OHA turned its focus to the Iron Pier Apartments development in the city’s Inner Harbor.
The idea was always to tie the Brewseum to a working brewery. At one point, it was to be part of a proposed new brewhouse at Iron Pier called Bullfinch Brewery, but those plans fell through. Bullfinch is still searching for a location of its own, while the Iron Pier site will now be home to the recently announced satellite taproom for the Meier’s Creek Brewery of Cazenovia.
“Due to circumstances beyond everybody’s control, things changed,” OHA executive director Gregg Tripoli said. “But it worked out because we have a beautiful location, and a strong partner who has developed a reputation and a passion for local beer.”
The change in location also meets some of the “strategic goals” of the OHA, Tripoli said.
The OHA, whose office and main museum are at 321 Montgomery St. downtown, has been working to expand its footprint into the suburbs, Tripoli said. Through projects like the Preserve at 405 restaurant, it also already has a presence in the Inner Harbor.
“Look, we love the city, love the Inner Harbor,” Tripoli said. “But this lets us expand our presence to some new areas.”
It also helps that Heritage Hill is an owner-occupied space, not a tenant. That means there’s less worry about expiring leases and other issues, Tripoli said.
The Brewseum will be a welcome addition to Heritage Hill, which sits on property that has been a working farm for 175 years, said owner Dan Palladino. The farm this week is hosting the annual Empire Farm Days agricultural show, which marks its return to Pompey for the first time since 1987.
“We’re super excited to be part of this, and part of local history,” Palladino said.
Palladino will put his own crews to work on the build-out, which should save time and money on the construction. The Brewseum will lead into the Heritage Hill brewery taproom and restaurant.
Over the years, beer and brewing history have become a major focus for the OHA. The OHA has a gallery in its downtown museum dedicated to the dozens of breweries that once dotted the North Side and the banks of the Erie Canal.
A centerpiece of the OHA beer gallery is the 11.5-foot statue of Gambrinus, the “beer king,” which once stood atop the Haberle Congress brewery on Butternut Street. Plans to locate either that statue or a life-size 3D replica in the new Brewseum are still under consideration, Tripoli said.
The OHA also acquired the rights to many of the historic trademarks for Congress Beer and others made by the Haberle Brewery, which closed in the early 1960s. It also has the rights to brew a beer using that name, and in 2018 launched a “retro” version of Congress in partnership with Willow Rock Brewing Co., a craft brewer off Ainsley Drive in Syracuse.
Part of the deal for locating the Brewseum is that Heritage Hill agreed to allow the sale of Congress Beer and related merchandise in the shop. Palladino was happy to do so.
“We all support each other in our local beer community,” he said. “It’s good for all of us.”
The Brewseum is an Onondaga Historical Association project that will house artifacts and other mementos of Syracuse beer history. It will be located at the Heritage Hill Brewhouse in Pompey. (Rendering by Exhibits and More for the Onondaga Historical Association.)
Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook.