The abandoned structure was purchased in 2020 and is set to become a mixed-use building featuring a rooftop restaurant, according to reports
NEED TO KNOW
- The Merchant’s Ice Tower in Louisville, Ky. has housed everything from brewery companies to ice manufacturing since the late 19th century
- Abandoned since around the late 20th century, the historic tower and its adjacent buildings are being repurposed
- A former cooler on the site reopened as Trellis Brewing in 2024
Located a 10-minute drive from downtown Louisville is a towering brick building that has been abandoned for years.
Though it is empty now, the Merchant’s Ice Tower in Louisville, Ky. once housed brewing companies and made and stored ice during Prohibition. Now, after being purchased by a developer, the building is set to take new life (and part of the plans tie back to its original roots in brewing).
From at least 1890 up to 1912, the Schaefer-Meyer Brewing Company was the owner of the Merchant’s Ice Tower, before ownership shifted to the Fehr Brewing Company, according to theLouisville Courier Journal…