Seminars and company events
Blue Ribbon Hall takes corporate meetings, holiday parties, retirement parties, fundraisers and concerts for up to 150 guests. It is the former corporate VIP center of the Historic Pabst Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and is rented together with the adjoining Captain's Courtyard by Best Place, the events operation housed in the brewery's old headquarters buildings.
For a company event, the hall gives a room with character that still works in practice. Microphones, an HD projector and screen and a house sound system are available, so a presentation or an awards segment can be followed by dinner and drinks in the same space. The bar is billed on consumption, with no minimum spend and no fixed packages, and custom bar packages can be set up on request. One bartender is staffed for every 50 guests. The venue is fully ADA compliant.
Weddings and receptions
The hall is one of the main wedding spaces at Best Place. Ceremonies take place in Blue Ribbon Hall, in the Captain's Courtyard or in the neighboring Great Hall, and receptions follow with dancing. A 25 ft by 25 ft dance floor fits in the hall, and the head table seats up to 12. Decorations can be dropped off the day before, with free overnight storage, or after 8 a.m. on the day itself. House rules exclude glitter, confetti, tinsel and fog or bubble machines, nothing may be fixed to walls or ceilings, and only enclosed candles are allowed.
Rooms and capacities
Blue Ribbon Hall and the Captain's Courtyard together take 150 people. The hall measures 45 ft by 50 ft, about 2,250 sq ft, with a 14 ft ceiling. For bigger or smaller groups, the same complex offers the Great Hall and Speakeasy for 250 in 4,800 sq ft, and the Guest Center with the King's Courtyard for 25.
Catering
There is no in-house caterer. Best Place provides a list of approved caterers for organizers to choose from.
History and setting
The hall was designed in the manner of a German beer hall to receive the brewery's important guests. A second-story balcony overlooks the room, which is decorated with hand-painted fresco murals, iron chandeliers, hand-blown glass windows and hand-carved wood trim. A statue of Frederick Pabst stands outside. The Great Hall next door was built in 1880 as the brewery's original corporate headquarters and still holds Frederick Pabst's office, along with a Prohibition-themed speakeasy bar and cream city brick walls. Best Place also runs brewery tours, a café and a gift shop, and the hall opens as a tavern on public days.
Getting there
The address is 917 W. Juneau Avenue, Milwaukee, in the Brewery District just northwest of downtown. Street parking is available in front of the venue and around the district, and spaces can be reserved in the parking garage across the street. Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport is the nearest airport.
