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Haddon Township Historical Photographs The Crystal Tavern ( Brewers Towne Tavern ) |
 Walt's Confectionary Shop (c. 1920) |
 Walt's Soda Shop & Walt's Tap Room (c. 1930s) |
| In the late 19th century Crystal Lake Ave. did not extend beyond present Haddon Ave. The north-west corner lots of Crystal Lake & Haddon Aves. were the undivided land of "Judge" J.P. Fowler (Fowler's house is now the B-Thrifty which dates to about the 1830s). At the turn of the century, Fowler still had his primary lot, however, E. Crystal Lake Ave. was laid out and his large lot was subdivided. One of the subdivided sections was an unimproved section on the corner owned by Dr. J. Stiles. At that time the Fowler house and its barns, and another house just past the corner owned by the Ball Brothers were the only properties near the northwest quadrant of present Crystal Lake & Haddon Aves. The Ball house had been had been partially constructed using many timbers from one of the former Fowler barns. |
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Caesar Frederich Weisbrod (change from Wyssbrod) was a Swiss emigrant and harness maker who came to Philadelphia in 1880s. He and his wife Barbara Walcher Weisbrod, also Swiss, eventually settled in Camden, New Jersey near Federal Street by 1895, where Caesar continued his trade as a harness maker. With the rise of the automobile, by World War I, urban horse use declined and harness makers began to look to other trades. About 1915 a family named Applegate sold the "Ball Brothers House" at 7 E. Crystal Lake Avenue to the Weisbrods. At this time the Weisbrod's had a commercial store front building (the current Brewers Towne Tavern) built at the intersection of Haddon and Crystal Lake Ave. to operate as a soda shop and confectionary. The property contained an apartment built upstairs for use by any future owner, or at that time, a store manager. Caesar's son Walter Weisbrod, Sr. (born 1899) was old enough by time construction was complete to manage the store when it opened, however he retained his residence next door with his parents at 7 E. Crystal Lake Ave. (Caesar died in 1926). The upstairs apartment of the store was soon rented out to Bill Payne and his family. Payne was a World War I veteran that the Weisbrods had taken a liking to and hired to work at the store. |
 Walter Weisbrod Sr. (1899-1950) |
 Advertisement from 1922 |
 Bill Payne, Shopkeeper, Walt's (c. 1925) |
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"Walt's" or "Walt's of Westmont", as the store was known, was more than a traditional candy and variety store. Walter had aspired to be a pharmacist, but never realized that dream. He sold numerous patent medicines until the patent medicine industry dissipated under stricter government regulations. Walt's also sold cigars and newspapers as a staple of their business. Many of the post cards of old Westmont that survive were also sold in the store. An ice cream parlor on the west side of the store was a large draw and always featured a Philadelphia brand, first Breyer's and later Abbot's always advertised on a standing sandwich board on the sidewalk by the street. As the depression set in the store varied its merchandise to improve business, still focused on confectionaries, ice cream, newspapers and cigars, it also sold wooden toys and collectable postage stamps, among other items. |
 Walt "Tap Room" Entrance (c. 1935) |  Ad for Walt's in local newspaper, January 1, 1939 |
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With the lifting of prohibition in 1933, Haddon Township, which had been dry long before the Volstead Act, having adopted prohibition about 1870, lifted the ban on beer. Ironically Haddonfield, which was the mid-19th century business district of old Newton Township and then Haddon Township from 1865 until the 1870s, was the center for alcohol and the impetus for the early adoption of prohibition in Haddon Township. This was largely because of problems associated with public dinking. Today many people mistakenly believe Haddonfield was a strict dry Quaker town dating to the late 1680s. While it was a Quaker town dating to the late 1680s, the beer produced in Haddonfield and shipped via Cooper River (at Chew Landing) to Philadelphia was acknowledged in Colonial times as among the best. Haddonfield's present "dry" reputation arises from the 1870 prohibition Haddon Township adopted and which it never lifted after splitting from Haddon Township (in 1876).Thus it has been dry for over 135 years now, primarily the result of a Victorian society and not its Quaker roots. However, nearby Delaware Township (now Cherry Hill) served the alcohol needs of the Haddonfielders who only needed to walk down the hill through Batesville (intersection of Kresson Road and Haddonfield-Berlin Road; where Kresson Wine/Kresson Liquors now stands) to reach the Flaming Rag, one of the most notorious raucous establishments in Camden County.
During the 1930s, Haddon Township eased into selling alcohol (legally) slowly. Not until the mid 1930s were there any advertising for taverns in local newspapers, but by the end of the decade it was a major business in Haddon Township largely because many surrounding townships retained prohibition. Walter Weisbrod seized the opportunity, as did many others to cash in on the beer trade. Walter used the back end of his store to open a "tap room" in the 1930s. Walt brought wooden kegs of what his son called "old lager beer" (and eventually Schmidt's in bottles) and hung a lit heraldic sign that read "Walt's Draught Beer" by the tap room entrance near the back of his store. It was only about 1939 when the name "Walt's Bar" came into use. This corresponded with the change over of the store to a full scale tavern. The large wooden bar, built about 1939 is probably mostly the original. Walt's Bar, in early year's (through World War II)was an establishment that prohibited women from drinking. This may be due to the culture of the clientele. Photos show that the establishment sold "art magazines" during that era and tavern give-aways indicate that this was strictly a guys hang-out to smoke cigars, play pool, and drink beer. It was Walter Weisbrod who dubbed the tavern "The Crystal Tavern." (However there was an earlier establishment known as the Crystal Lake Tavern that existed very briefly on Park Avenue near Glenwood "near Crystal Lake.") The owners of that establishment soon moved over to what became the Westmont Inn. During this period Bill Payne was the main operating employee of "Walt's Crystal Tavern." |
 The Crystal Tavern (c.1940s) |
 Crystal Tavern "Air Raid Siren" Match Book (c. 1945) |  Seasonal Gift Bill's Crystal Tavern Brown & Bigelow Mfg. "Winning Aces" (1947) |  Phil Wintheim's Crystal Tavern Bullet Pencils(c. 1950s) |
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During World War II, Walt began having difficultly getting supplies for the bar, and coupled with bad health, he decided to retire. He continued to live at 7 East Crystal Lake Avenue but sold the bar to Bill Payne. Walt died on vacation in Ocean City, NJ in 1950. Payne was not able to keep the Crystal Tavern running profitably, and before long he sold the bar to Bill Hafer (and it was locally dubbed Bill's Crystal Tavern). The next owner/operator of the tavern was Phil Wintheim who retained the name "Crystal Tavern." (Phil's Crystal Tavern). By this time a large metal and neon sign jutted out from the corner and the bar advertised an air-conditioning, packaged goods and pizza. Pabst Blue Ribbon and Schlitz beer neon signs were desplayed in the window. For the next several decades, the bar retained the name "The Crystal Tavern" sometimes just referred to as "The Crystal." The tavern changed hands again and was operating as Michael's Crystal Tavern by the 1960s. |
 Seasonal Gift Nutcracker Set Crystal Tavern (c.1950s) |  Advertisement for Michael's Crystal Tavern (1966) |
 Pat's Pub (2005) |  Pat's PT Cruiser (2005) |
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A long-time bar-tender at the Crystal Tavern, Pat Fritzche bought the business in the 1980s, removed the prominent corner neon marquee and renamed the business "Pat's Pub." After Pat's death in 2006, Pat's Pub was sold to a corporation that includes a long time Pat's Pub bar-tender, Kurt Brahms, who manages the business as "Brewers Towne Tavern." Kurt's business partner, Glenn Wira, like Kurt, grew up in Haddon Township, not too far from the tavern. For over 75 years the establishment has served as a tavern without interruption, a historic fixture and the landmark of the intersection of two of "Westmont's" main two roads. |
 Brewers Towne Tavern "Where Friends Meet" (2006)  Brewer's Towne Tavern |
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What has changed about the tavern and surrounding area during this time? According to Robert Weisbrod, one of Walt's sons, the kitchen is in its original location as is the tiny room he referred to as the office (used for storage and an ice maker now). The original entrance to the upstairs apartment was located on E. Crystal Lake Avenue (it was later moved to the west side of the building, near where the ice cream part of the business was in the early days. Across E. Crystal a small Gulf gas station, Dick's Gulf was built in the 1920s. (this is now one of the DiCesaear's auto repair properties) According to Robert, when his family came to Westmont that intersection was "a residential area" catty-corner and next to Jackson?s Funeral home were a couple old houses, most notably Dr. Feran, a family physician who operated his practice there (and was the Township Health Director for many years). These houses came down with the building of Fidelity Bank and the surrounding PATCO lot. Across Haddon from the tavern there were also several old houses, as well Duffy's feed store and what was the old toll house. The toll house was moved down E. Crystal Lake Avenue, years ealier and converted into a twin residence; however, a small portion remained on Haddon Avenue and was owned and used by a Realty agency (it was used as an office for Edward H. Cutler's large "Crsytal Lake Park" housing development that went up near the railroad after World War I). The small structure was later moved across the street and served many purposes including a taxi stand, and for the last couple decades, a barber shop, Perk's Place. For many years this property was owned by the tavern. Next to that was Goettesman's a deli/packaged goods store that operated for many years. Franco's Place "home of the Panzoratti" was a fixture here for many years (they are now located in Haddonfield). |
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