According to the 1900 census records, Charles F. Kropp immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1886. He was actively in business in the Bronx, New York from 1900 to 1912, initially as a brewer and later as a mineral water manufacturer.
Between 1900 and 1908, the NYC general directories classify him as “beer” or “brewer.” In addition, the Chas F Kropp Brewing Co was listed in the 1904 and 1906 NYC Copartnership and Corporation Directories. Later, between 1909 and 1912, he’s classified in the general directories as “waters.”
Over the years, he was listed at the following locations:
1901 536 Trinity Avenue
1902 to 1903 890 Jackson Avenue
1904 to 1905 East 149th Street
1906 to 1912 524 Robbins Avenue
In 1905 Kropp’s home address was listed as 524 Robbins, so Kropp was associated with the Robbins Avenue address from 1905 to 1912. He apparently passed away in 1913 or 1914. The 1914 directory listed Kropp’s wife, Barbara, as a widow.
Robbins Avenue has subsequently been renamed Jackson Avenue and 524 Jackson Avenue is a small one story structure that includes a garage door opening at street level. It looks too new to have been used by the Kropp business.
I’ve found a total of three bottles, all embossed with the Robbins Avenue address. Each of them has a tooled crown finish and fits the 1905 to 1912 time frame when Kropp was at that address. They are 8 oz so I’m guessing they contained mineral water as opposed to beer. This probably puts them at the later end of the time frame.
The NYC Copartnership and Corporation Directories listed the Bruckner Brothers as John A and Henry Bruckner. The business bottled mineral water and soda. Henry was also a prominent Bronx politician serving as an Assemblyman in 1901, Commissioner of Public Works from 1902 to 1912, a Congressman from 1913 to 1917 and Bronx Borough President from 1918 to 1933. Bruckner Boulevard and the Bruckner Expressway were named after him.
An early Bruckner Bros bottle listed on the Internet is embossed “Successors to Stephen Garland.” Garland was listed as waters in the Directories between 1875 and 1892. He was located at East 163rd Street near 3rd Avenue through the mid 1880’s, and at Elton Avenue and E 162nd Street until 1892. Bruckner Bros was first listed in the 1894 NYC Directory in the same neighborhood at 668 East 161st Street so they must have purchased and moved the business sometime in 1892 or 1893.
Sometime between 1906 and 1908 they moved to 408 East 161st Street and continued to be listed at that address throughout National Prohibition. In the 1940’s they were still located there but had changed their name to Bruckner Beverages. Henry Bruckner died in 1942 but the business survived through most of the 1950’s. In 1957 they were listed at 450 Thompson Place.
The “American Bottler” contained the following story of a robbery that occurred at the business in July, 1917. The story gives a little insight into Henry Bruckner’s sense of humor.
The Uses of Adversity
Sweet are the uses of adversity. Sometime during the night of July 28th last, burglars forced an entrance to the soda water plant of Bruckner Bros., at 412 East 161st Street, New York City, and blew a large safe in the office on the second floor, securing $1,000 in cash and a number of checks. They then went to the private office of Congressman Henry Bruckner and blew the safe there, securing a number of checks.
Turning his misfortune to advertising account Mr Bruckner immediately furnished the local newspapers with the following copy.
Burglars recently robbed the safe in the establishment of Bruckner Bros. The cracksman drank several bottles of ginger ale before departing. It must be good. Try it. Sold by first class grocers, delicatessen dealers and confectioners in the Bronx.
U-NO-US
Henry Bruckner, Sole Proprietor
Interestingly, Henry listed himself as sole proprietor in the above story but two years later, the 1919 Copartnership and Corporation Directory continued to list both Henry and John as principals. The 1925 NYC Directory listed the business as Bruckner Bros., but only named Henry Bruckner. I guess it’s safe to say that John left the business at some point during this period.
In 1921 they registered the U-NO-US slogan as a trademark (No.148198; Published Date Sept. 27, 1921) although they claimed to have been using it since 1896. They describe the product as non-alchohlic, non-cereal maltless beverages sold as soft drinks. This was their big seller during the prohibition years. I’ve seen bottles listed on the Internet with “U-NO-US”embossed in large letters below the shoulder and the company name and address in smaller letters near the base.
408 to 412 East 161st Street is located in the Morrisania section of the Bronx, about 10 blocks east of Yankee Stadium. The former addresses are now encompassed by a new apartment building that takes up the west end of the block on the south side.
The bottle I found is a 28-ounce, machine made crown. It has the 408 to 412 address embossed on it but does not have the U-NO-US trademark. They were using this trademark as early as 1916 and it apparently was popular during Prohibition. This leads me to believe the bottle was made before the trademark really caught on; say sometime between 1915 and 1920. It was found with the porcelan stopper still in place but no wire bail.
