Old Taylor Distillery Architectural drawings, 1935-1958
Held by The Filson Historical Society
Creator: Old Taylor Distillery
Title: Architectural drawings, 1935-1958
Rights: For information regarding literary and copyright interest for these papers, contact the Collections Department.
Size of Collection: 3 oversized folders
Location Number: Mss. AR O44
Scope and Content Note
These drawings contain technical diagrams, floor plans, elevations, and plats for the Old Taylor Distillery.
Folder 1 contains a series of drawings labelled “B.” These are primarily technical diagrams, but also include floor plans and sections relating to the construction of the Old Taylor Distillery, 1935-1936.
Folder 2 contains floor plans, elevations, and technical diagrams for the Old Taylor Distillery, including plans for its signature key-shaped pool, 1938-1958.
Folder 3 contains plats, floor plans, elevations, and technical diagrams for the Old Taylor Distillery, 1943-1945 and undated. (These drawings were originally bound together in a volume but were removed for preservation and ease of access.)
Related collections:
Old Taylor Distillery chemical book (005×47).
Historical Note
The Old Taylor Distillery was located on Glenn’s Creek and the Versailles Pike in Woodford County, Kentucky. Colonel Edmund H. Taylor bought the property and established the Old Taylor Distillery in 1887. This was the first distillery in the United States designed and operated as a showplace, combining customer hospitality with the production of spirits. Taylor was known as an innovator in bourbon distilling. He was also noted for his work to pass the Bottled in Bond Act of 1897, which ensured that what the distiller said was in the bottle matched its contents. Despite these innovations, the approach of Prohibition forced the distillery to close in 1917.
National Distillers purchased and revitalized the distillery in 1936 after Prohibition was repealed, operating it under its former name. The company stopped producing bourbon there in 1972 after a drop in demand, and eventually sold the plant to American Brands. The James B. Beam Distillery then used its warehouses for storage. In 2014 the investment group Peristyle LLC purchased the site, which they have restored and renamed the Castle & Key Distillery.
References:
Zoeller, Chester. Bourbon in Kentucky: A History of Distilleries in Kentucky. 3rd ed. Louisville: Butler Books, 2015.
“Castle & Key Distillery Rising from Ruins After Old Taylor Distillery Narrowly Escaped Wrecking Ball.” Distillery Trail. Last modified July 27, 2016. https://www.distillerytrail.com/blog/castle-key-distillery-rising-ruins-old-taylor-distillery-narrowly-escaped-wrecking-ball/.
Folder List
Oversize Folders
1. Technical diagrams, floor plans, and sections, 1935-1936
2. Floor plans, elevations, and technical diagrams, 1938-1958
3. Plats, floor plans, elevations, and technical diagrams, 1943-1945, undated
