Koehler's Neon Sign and Clock

Old Time Erie: Koehler clock photo ©John Baker 2013.

Stark. Bold. Stately. The old Koehler clock on State Street. How sad it was to watch this old sign suffer a slow and agonizing death. Its paint peeled. Rust dissolved the iron. The hands stopped turning. Time stood still. No one seems to remember the exact day when the Koehlers first flipped the switch. It lit up the skyline for many years.

The old red and white building at 2121 State St. was constructed in 1863, at a turbulent time when the Civil War was in full swing. The brewery was established in Erie, Pennsylvania by the Koehler family in 1847. The Erie Brewing Company sold the Koehler brand to C. Schmidt and Co. of Philadelphia in February of 1978 and stopped brewing beer in Erie. The five building complex sat vacant from '78 until it was leveled in the spring of 2006.

Did you know there were several Koehler beer references in the movie That Thing You Do featuring Tom Hanks? Click the movie title for a cool article with stills from the scenes in the motion picture.

Reminisce about the old days at Old Time Erie

Amity Inn Bar With Neon Koehler Beer Sign

Amity Inn photo courtesy of Tom DiLuzio.

The Amity Inn on West 26th Street in Erie, PA had a pretty cool bar setup in 1943, as you can see in this photo. The most impressive feature was a neon Koehler Beer sign hanging right in the center, above a nice display of flags from around the world. Look to the right and you'll see an antique blade fan on top of an old oak refrigerator with glass doors. Some of the other features in the picture include a Calvert calendar, a Planters Salted Peanuts display, bags of popcorn and beef jerky, and a nice, shiny bar. There is a wide assortment of liquor on display, including bottles of Union Town and lots of other names that are too small to decipher. 

Joseph Ferraro owned the Amity Inn, which was located at 1334 West 26th Street in Erie. Guy Lombardo had dinner there in 1946.

Enjoy more historic facts and photos of Erie, PA at: Old Time Erie