Stroll north (right) on Convent Street. The Sister’s convent, now at the far west end of the school building, used to stand on this street. At the Church Rectory, look across at the handsome building that could easily stand in the Tuscan country of Northern Italy. This was the Schneider Brewery, the first portion of which was built in 1888 on ground purchased from the Church. For many years, it was a major industry in town and its Century beer sold throughout the Southwest. You can see how the brewery expanded by noting the different types of brick in the façade, although efforts were made to match architectural details. The company’s headquarters were on the corner and the bottling plant was across Plum Street. A metal pipe used to dangle over Convent Street. It spewed out the used mash from the brewing process into waiting wagons to be hauled off for cattle feed. (Did the cows get tipsy?) During Prohibition, the brewery bottled soft drinks, but in 1929, the Van Vleet interests, who foresaw the end of the non-alcohol era, which came in 1933, purchased the business. Although the Van Vleets had plenty of monetary strength (their Trinidad Bean and Elevator Company operated in seven states and you’ll see their magnificent home in the East Main Street walk), their efforts to reestablish Century beer were overwhelmed by the advertising and marketing strategies of emerging national brands. The brewery stands empty, but with all the development going on in downtown Trinidad, one of these years, someone with the ideas and the capital will make it magnificent again. We hope.
Little Plum street, which you cross here, is so crooked because it is a paved-over mill stream. Water diverted from the river several blocks west of here powered Trinidad’s first and only flour mill for several years in the 1870s. After the mill closed, the stream was simply filled in and became Plum Street. At one time, there were seven Chinese laundries listed in the city directory and five of them were on Plum Street. There were also two saloons along the street. History does not record if that led to many scorched shirts.
Walk on down the wide sidewalks on either side of Convent Street. On your left is a riverside city park with several pleasant picnic areas and well-equipped playgrounds. It is named for Jay Cimino, a very successful Trinidadian who has done much for his old hometown. On your right, is the handsome International Bank building, certainly not historical but designed in a modern, vaguely Southwest style that blends pleasantly.
