AMERICAN TREASURES
WHISKEY ROW
This American Treasure originally ran in the
2017 August issue of MASONRY. Whiskey Row
exemplifies the resiliency masonry offers to
buildings and structures when used. We hope
you enjoy it as much as the readers of
MASONRY did.
THE HISTORY
Built between 1852 and 1905, these buildings
were constructed as part of the bourbon boom.
The impressive buildings were comprised
primarily of masonry, with wood joists for support.
On the façade of the buildings, ornate cast-iron
and terracotta don the window and door arches.
With no HVAC or running water, the original
versions of the buildings only housed masonry
coal heaters to char the barrels for proper bourbon
making. Once completed, barrels of bourbon
would be rolled down the adjacent North 1st
street to the river where they’d be shipped via
steamboat.
In addition to bourbon production, the block of
buildings also housed storage, sales, and
distribution centers. According to the Explore KY
History website, whiskey producers such as John
T. Barbee and Company, Brown-Forman
Company, Greenbrier Distillery Company, and
Old Kentucky Distillery all had Main Street
locations. As technology advanced, distribution
50 | Masonry Design
WORDS: MASONRY MAGAZINE
PHOTOS: BRUCE STARRENBURG
didn’t have to center around the nearby Ohio
River, the distillery-related businesses left.
For approximately 20 years, the buildings sat
dormant. Skylights were shattered over the years
and rainwater poured into the buildings, which
deteriorated the brick, sheet metal and cast-iron
that made up the buildings. Eventually, the
buildings were placed on Louisville’s Most
Endangered Historic Places list and nearly
destroyed in 2011. However, the City of Louisville
hatched a plan with developers and
preservationists to restore the block to its
former glory.
THE RESTORATION
Developer Valle Jones and her team began work
on 111, 113, and 115 W. Main St. in 2012,
utilizing a national tax credit in order to help
complete the scope of work. However, this meant
that the restoration work had to adhere to a set
of standards set forth by the U.S. National Park
Service. That meant the doors and details of the
building had to look as they did when they were
originally constructed.
Immediate work was done to stabilize the
structures. SGH Masonry Design paved the
parking lot behind the 15-story facades of two
original buildings. Sills were rebuilt to look like