Whiskey Row historic district is located along Main Street in Louisville, Kentucky. This view is of the 100 block of West Main Street, which by 1905 was home to over 19 whiskey businesses. Whiskey Row derives its name from a history of whiskey related businesses located there, including distilleries, wholesalers, and warehouses.
Whiskey Row is located one block from the Ohio River and the wharf. Beginning in the 1850's, this was the primary location for trading, buying, and shipping goods, including the large whiskey trade. During the Civil War the U.S. Army purchased sizable quantities of whiskey to use as a painkiller for wounded soldiers.
Many of the buildings in the 100 block are over 150 years old. The corner building was the original site where the first Galt House hotel was built in 1835, but burned in 1865. The current building was built in 1877 to house the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Co. The next two buildings were built in 1869 and 1870 and housed numerous distilleries including J.B Wathen, Old Times Distillery, Glenmore Distillery, and Old Charter Distillery.
