Footage from a 1991 trip into one of the more mythological places in St. Louis - a former brewery, show cave, and "peccary cemetery". UrbEx before we used the term.
My father growing up in the thirties and forties used to play in these caves my grandmother's house is the Last House on the Left at the end of Arsenal Street her house still exist today when they cut Highway 55 through they destroyed some of the tunnels connecting to the brewery you could literally stand at the end of Arsenal Street and throw a rock across Highway 55 and hit Lemp Brewery I've heard about these caves but never been in them
My Father and Uncles were spelunkers. I've been in caves all over Missouri. Absolutely loved it when I was a kid. They grew up playing in those caves. I grew up hearing all about them. Re the Lemps? Suicide tends to run strong in family lines. Their story is beyond tragic.
Does anyone remember there being a haunted house that went through the theatre and other subterranean rooms in the mid 90s? I was a Junior in HS in 1994 and my friend and I had a double date into the Lemp caves. It was very spooky. Much more so than any other haunted house we did and we did them all.
The haunted house only went into the cellars, they didn't take people into the cave. Even the current haunted house has misleading advertising that claims to take people "over a 100 feet underground in subterranean caves", but they don't. The cave isn't even 100 feet underground smh.
very interesting, i used to live on louisiana ave. never heard of this cave (which doesn't look like any cave i've seen) grew up in st. louis and drove by the old brewery all the time. i wish i'd heard about this cave, when i was a kid.
I would absolutely love to get down there and take some new footage! I found the little “peephole” in the parking lot across the street years ago but to get down there(or any of our local secret caves for that matter) would be a dream come true.
I grew up on the streets above them caves and me and friends always wanted to get to them but never knew where there was an entrance but spent years of my youth hearing stories about them my father worked for Burglar Alarm Company and had to go to the lemp mansion and demandel house two or three in the morning and he said he didn't believe in ghosts or Spirits or any things like that and it was the spookiest and scariest place he had ever been in his life felt like he was being watched the whole time and he was there alone at 2:00 in the morning
Cave or cellar with prehistoric wild boar bones, it's still interesting St. Louis history. Theater built here because it was cool before widely used air conditioning?
There was & some of it remains or did last time I was in them, around ‘97 - ‘98….. I’m skeptical about this being the actual caves from the Brewery side, there’s a lot they missed if so & most definitely would have shown it!
Lots of houses in that area have entrances to the caves that are blocked off because you aren't supposed to be down there. The caves up under downtown as well. There used to be a theater and ice cream parlor in them. They were cool in the hot St Louis summers.
This was the 1800s. There was no air conditioning or refrigeration. Underground temperatures are about 55-60 degrees year round. Most don't realize it, but St. Louis is more hot and humid than Florida in July and August with typical temperatures in the high 90s during the day and humidity near 100%. Big cities were worse in those days due to coal burning for industry and no vegetation. All the land was used for streets and buildings with few parks. It would have been very cool and comfortable down there in the summer which is important for brewing beer. The Lemp family sold the brand to the Griesedieck brothers which became Falstaff. Falstaff continued to use the Lemp logo, but with the Falstatt name. Pabst now owns the license, but do not brew beer under the Lemp or Falstaff brand names.
There is an elevator that will take you to the entrance through a locked metal door in one of the giant underground storage rooms below the brewery complex.
Other than a sales pitch/gimmick, I rather doubt it had anything really to do with the Cherokee Nation, who were not located in the area of St. Louis in Missouri. Maybe the Osage if any Native American tribe, possibly.
