Boston's Brewery Housing

"A century ago, Boston's Stony Brook Valley and the artesian wells under Mission Hill supported two dozen breweries, which churned out such colorful quaffs as Vienna Old Time Lager, Elmo Ale -- named for a brewer's son -- and, with the Olde Towne Team's championship 1912 season, Red Sox Beer and Pennant Ale.

Only a handful of the breweries, however, lasted after Prohibition and most of the sturdy, soaring buildings were eventually torn down. But three Gilded Age survivors on or near Heath Street are being revived after a long dormancy and are set to become hubs of modern living.

The first to be ready are the lofts at the American Brewery Co. building on Heath Street, with its granite, brick, and terra cotta stonework and twin archways where horse-drawn wagons brought water and barley in and lager out.

'It's not only historically significant, it's a beautiful building with dramatic open spaces, large windows and a courtyard, which will make it an interesting refuge from the city," said Tom Niles , executive vice president of development for Procaccianti Group of Cranston, R.I., which along with Commonwealth Capital Ventures of Waltham, is redeveloping the property.'"