Preservationists from Lawrenceville yesterday delivered a proposal to the city to save properties within the Iron City Brewing Co. complex from demolition.

Architect Keith Cochran and architectural historian Carol Peterson submitted a nomination of photos, historic and architectural documentation with 100 letters of support on behalf of Lawrenceville Stakeholders. The document will be considered by the Historic Review Commission within 45 days.

Mr. Cochran met Monday with brewing company officials who gave him a tour of the plant and "said they were anxious to work with the community."

Tim Hickman, president of the brewing company, said the buildings are no longer of use to brewing operations but that he is open to "other people's insights into the value of the property. If historic designation can generate other sources of funding that could add value, we look at this as an opportunity for redevelopment."

Iron City Brewing maintains its corporate headquarters and a warehouse on the property. It moved processing and bottling operations to Latrobe in July.

Mr. Cochran said that, although most of the buildings are not as visible as the signature one fronting on Liberty Avenue near the Herron Avenue Bridge, "they are all historically and architecturally significant."

Ms. Peterson said the importance of the history of the company goes beyond Lawrenceville. "It's not even just a 'Burgh thing," she said, relating to a 1992 ad campaign the company used. "It's part of the history of southwestern Pennsylvania."

According to the company's Web site, its roots date to 1861 when Edward Frauenheim, a German immigrant, co-founded Frauenheim, Miller & Company and brewed one of the country's first golden lagers. The company expanded with the beer's popularity, building new buildings beside each other through the latter part of the 19th century.

It became the Pittsburgh Brewing Co. with an 1899 merger of 20 regional breweries. By 1918, annual revenues had reached $7.7 million, with an $800,000 profit.

After Prohibition, the company formed its Iron City Brewing Co. subsidiary.

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