Off Limits

City Hall subway stop - now an eerie ghost town.

I'm fairly fascinated with abandoned spaces that were once great sanctuaries of days gone by. For example, when I found out a few years ago that one could catch a glimpse of New York City's old decommissioned City Hall subway stop, I jumped at the opportunity. Turns out it's just as easy as riding the 6 train to it's final southbound stop (Brooklyn Bridge), and instead of getting off the train, staying right in your seat. While the train turns around to begin its journey northbound, you get to see all of the City Hall stop in its former glory, albeit in fairly low light.

So when I recently stumbled upon
a television program on the Travel Channel called "Off Limits," I was immediately intrigued. Just as you'd expect, the show's host, Don Wildman, visits abandoned sites, unexplored areas, and places where the unwashed masses are simply not granted access. With my growing knowledge of Prohibition, I immediately went to "Off Limits"'s website to check if Don had taken any trips to speakeasies. While I guessed wrong on Rum Patrol-applicable subject matter, a trio of "Off Limits" clips were definitely fun watches.

First up, Don finds himself in St. Paul, MN, to visit Schmidt's Brewery, which has been closed since 2002, ending its 147 years of on-site brewing. In the last 10 years, the property has been the subject of development plans ranging from an entire urban village complete with apartments, condos, and retail space, to smaller-scale live/work artist spaces. Unfortunately, nothing has materialized and the entire 15-acre site lies dormant and for sale once again.



Just as Don mentions the Schmidts' deviation from using underground tunnels, the next clip finds our intrepid host there - the underground beer tunnels of Lemp Brewing Company in St. Louis, MO. As Don mentions, the brewery was bought out by International Shoe Company in 1922. Since then, the 14 acre site has become home to various warehouses, office, and light industrial space. Interestingly enough, though the tunnel system remains largely abandoned, several buildings' basements get rented from time to time for uses such as Halloween haunted houses and rave parties.



Taking a huge left turn from the above two clips, we finish off with a back-of-the-house look at Aria Resort and Casino's alcohol distribution system in Las Vegas, NV. This is simply something you must see to believe. The intricacy of the system is certainly an awesome sight, but I can't help but wonder if it takes a bit of the mystique of drink preparation out of the equation. I feel like this is the way the Jetsons would receive their drinks...



With "Off Limits" having just kicked off its third season, I would certainly recommend setting your DVR to record this show whenever it pops up. There's certainly no shortage of fascinating places Don's visited and figures to visit moving forward.

That being said, watching these clips almost feels like a call to action for me. Are there any other libationary "off limits" sites that Rum Patrol can track down and, with a little luck, actually visit? With a little detective work and persistence, hopefully we will in the future.