How an abandoned church was tactfully transformed into a brewery
As a dilapidated yet beloved church in Clinton, Iowa, was being slated for demolition, Richard Schwab was across the Mississippi River searching for a new home for his brewery. He’d purchased Lionstone Brewing in Geneseo, Ill. in 2019, where it quickly outgrew its location in a strip mall. As an art and culture enthusiast, Richard renamed the business Great Revivalist Brewery and planned to move it into an old firehouse, schoolhouse or church.
He was pointed toward Clinton’s Gothic Revivalist church and instantly fell in love with the structure. After purchasing it, Richard led an intense renovation project before officially opening the first brewery in Clinton’s downtown district.
“I love art and culture things, so I wanted the space to be rich and original and have some kind of historical and architectural significance,” Richard said. “[The church] looked like something from an apocalyptic movie. I fell in love with it, and the renovation was like peeling an onion, the more you dug down, the better it looked.”
Restored Glory
Now under the ownership and operation of the Dubuque-based 7 Hills Brewing Company and renamed 7 Hills South, the space shows off Richard’s original dedication and passion for preserving its original features.
Throughout the renovation process, the Clinton church’s wooden pews, stained glass windows, oil lamps and other historical features were preserved or reused as much as possible. In fact, the bulk of the process included restoring the original 1898 stained glass windows, cleaning and revamping the Italian tile fresco, transforming the wooden pews into tables and repurposing materials from other historic buildings nearby. New additions included placing a 17th century gaper from the Netherlands over the doors and a 1940 Italianate replica fountain in the outdoor courtyard.
The project also required putting in all new gas, water and sewer lines, putting it six times over budget. But never-ending support from the local First Citizens Bank and grants from the Iowa Economic Development Authority helped make it all possible.
With the church fully restored, today’s guests can now sample carefully crafted beers and sodas alongside woodfired pizzas and other fresh menu items, all made by a passionate team.
