Louis Lichtenberger was born and raised in Ottweiler, Prussia. His family emigrated to America following the failed European uprisings of 1848. They settled in Chicago where young Louis obtained an apprenticeship in the carriage and wagon-making craft.

At around age 25 he got "Gold Fever" and headed west to practice his trade in San Francisco, California. Three years later he moved south to Los Angeles and found a permanent home. There Lichtenberger married Miss Amelia Bohse in 1865, a union that produced four children. He established a large wagon shop with partner Louis Roeder. He was successful in the booming city making dray wagons for hauling heavy cargo from ships and breweries. It was the latter clientele that likely provided the opportunity to purchase the Philadelphia Brewery on Aliso Street.

The two-year-old brewery had gone through four owners in just 18 months and was probably offered at a bargain. Lichtenberger bought the firm in 1876 and ran it ably by all accounts. However the next year he got a taste of what may have driven the Philadelphia's previous owners out of the beer business.

A Mr. Kolbach, impersonating a revenue agent, tried to force the Lichtenberger to pay $150 for "tax stamp irregularities". Lichtenberger by this time was a wealthy man of great influence in the city. While men of lesser reputation might have paid up under threat, Lichtenberger was able to get the Kolbach thrown in jail for blackmail. Nonetheless Lichtenberger sold the Philadelphia Brewery to D. Mahlstedt & Co. in 1878.

Louis Lichtenberger went on to be elected Los Angeles City Treasurer that year, then served as president of the Sixth District Agricultural Association for another decade. Louis Lichtenberger died on February 28, 1892 at the age of 56 years. He left his wife and four children. Mahlstedt ran the Philadelphia Brewery for four years then sold it to Messrs Maier & Zobelein. The brewery became the Maier Brewery in 1907. It survived Prohibition and the rationing of WWII and became the largest brewery in Los Angeles. It finally closed in 1974.

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Associated Breweries