Everyone at the Brew House on the South Side, the former Duquesne Brewery that has become a home to various artists, must get out by Sept. 19 because of building code violations.

The city last week ordered that the structure on Mary Street be vacated after an inspector found what Sergei Matveiev, chief of the Bureau of Building Inspection, called a "critical mass of violations."

Chief among them is an unfinished fire alarm system, but he said the inspector also found such hazards as open wiring, flammable materials and improperly stored items.

The Brew House Association, a nonprofit that has owned the building since 2001, has been trying to rehabilitate the structure as a residence for artists and arts organizations.

But Mr. Matveiev said the building is too dangerous to remain occupied.

"Sometimes we have to be the bad guy," he said.

The Brew House Association, formed in 1991, said it's trying to comply with building codes to make the structure safe, but in the meantime it has told its several dozen residents and organizational partners to vacate.

Mr. Matveiev said the association will have to come up with a timetable for repairs and show progress in meeting deadlines for compliance before the city lets anyone back in.

"This is an old problem," he said.

Andi Sharp, executive director of the Brew House Association, said in an e-mail that the group hopes the notice to vacate is a temporary setback. She said the association has spent about $175,000 for the fire suppression system and expects to have it working in a few days.

She also said the association has enlisted the help of designers and real estate experts to come up with solutions to make the fixes in time to keep the artists from being displaced.

Some of the violations can be fixed with little money and work, she said, but long-standing problems require about $50,000.

Artists have rented space in the Brew House under various owners since the 1970s, but in 1991 a group of them created the Brew House Association and incorporated as a nonprofit in 1993.

The association completed the purchase of the building in August 2001 and said it has made more than $700,000 in improvements since then.

The Brew House has 25 studios and lofts for artists, and in 1995 the association opened Space 101, an exhibition space for regional artists and events. The Brew House Theater opened in 1997 and is now home to several performance groups, including Rage of the Stage Players, Phase 3 Productions and the Eclectic Laboratory Chamber Orchestra.