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Kool-Aid entrance to original building.

Birthplace of Kool-Aid

Field review by the editors.

Hastings, Nebraska

Edwin Perkins didn't move to Hastings until he was 31, didn't invent Kool-Aid until seven years later, and then moved his company to Chicago four years after that. Which is a long way of saying that Kool-Aid's time in Hastings was brief. But it was born here nevertheless, and Hastings deserves recognition for it.

A plaque has been bolted next to the front door of the former Perkins Products Company, telling the Kool-Aid story. We noted that every window in the building, except for one on the second floor, was walled up with cement slabs. Did the early Kool-Aid leave behind a powerful flotsam, like a super-fruity asbestos?

Where Kool-Aid was invented.
Before the 2012 renovation.

There are many things Kool-Aid to see in Hastings, including the Kool-Aid museum and Kool-Aid Man's footprints in cement. But for those who want to stand really, really close to where soft drink history was made, this is the place.

Also see: Hard and Soft Drink

Birthplace of Kool-Aid

Address:
518 W. 1st St., Hastings, NE
Directions:
Downtown. From US Hwy 281 turn east onto 7th St. for four blocks, then south on St. Joseph Ave. for six blocks. The plaque is on the north side of 1st St., a half-block west of St. Joseph.
Phone:
402-461-2370
RA Rates:
Worth a Detour
Save to My Sights

Nearby Offbeat Places

Kool-Aid Man's Footprints in CementKool-Aid Man's Footprints in Cement, Hastings, NE - 1 mi.
Kool-Aid: Discover the DreamKool-Aid: Discover the Dream, Hastings, NE - 1 mi.
Bigfoot Crossroads of America MuseumBigfoot Crossroads of America Museum, Hastings, NE - 3 mi.
In the region:
Statue of Brothers Pinned Together by an Arrow, Grand Island, NE - 21 mi.

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