The Lemp Family's Cherokee / Lemp Brewery Cave Theater

By Dr. Mark Farley

Four stories under the Lemp Brewery lies the forgotten Lemp Family Theater. With the advent of refrigeration and the building of the First Fermentation Department, the Lemp Brewery Caves were no longer needed to lager their beer. Since the cave's temperature is a constant 60 degrees all year round, it made the perfect venue to entertain guests during the brutal St. Louis Summers and cold St. Louis Winters. The Lemp Family built a small theater in the Cherokee Caves, complete with backdrops, a stage, and lighting. The family would invite theater troops to perform in their theater to entertain their guests, and at times, the people who lived nearby and worked in their brewery.

In the photo, you can see what remains of the Lemp Family Theater. The blue strip hanging from the ceiling is what's left of the stage backdrop, and the rubble where the stage once stood is a pile of stage lighting, left to rust away for over a century.