Richard Wagner Theatre") was laid. Wagner initially announced the first Bayreuth Festival, at which for the first time the "Ring" cycle would be presented complete, for 1873, but since Ludwig had declined to finance the project, the start of building was delayed and the proposed date for the festival was deferred. To raise funds for the construction, "Wagner societies" were formed in several cities, and Wagner began touring Germany conducting concerts. By the spring of 1873, only a third of the required funds had been raised; further pleas to Ludwig were initially ignored, but early in 1874, with the project on the
August Wagner Breweries in 1933 following the repeal of Prohibition and the company was again renamed "The August Wagner and Sons Brewing Company." In 1937 the company was renamed "August Wagner Breweries, Inc." The brewery was owned by the Wagner family until 1968, when it was purchased by a group of investors from Detroit, Michigan. In 1970 August Wagner Breweries purchased The Little Switzerland Brewing Company of Huntington, West Virginia, formerly known as the . The Huntington plant was closed in 1971 and production was moved to Columbus; the Columbus brewery closed in January, 1974. The brewery was sold to the Dispatch Printing