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Location DB >
United States >
Texas >
Llano >
Ice House & Power Plant
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Publically Viewable |
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This location has been labeled by its creator as Public, and therefore can be viewed by anyone.
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Open air buildings that once housed the ice house and power plant, now part of the City of Llano water treatment plant. It consists of several small buildings somewhat connected but the roof is missing on each so its essentially just walls. Nature has crept in and taken over most of the flooring.
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Type: Building
Status: Active
Accessibility: Easy
Recommendation: check it out if you're nearby
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fences
razor wire
24 hour guard
locked gates
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gloves
long pants / sleeves
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In 1876 Andrew Jackson Zilker was 18 years old, living in his birthplace of New Albany, Indiana and was restless. Having read a two volume history of Texas he made his way to New Orleans as a cabin boy on a riverboat and eventually made it to Austin by ox cart and on foot arriving with 50 cents in his pocket and the clothes on his back.
He immediately began searching for work and found it as a dishwasher. By day's end he had doubled his money. Later he found work as a laborer constructing the Congress Avenue Bridge but he knew that the real money was in the Texas heat and the new technology of ice manufacturing.
In 1875 Austin had its 1st ice plant in Barton Springs opened by Michael Paggi. Zilker hired on with Paggi in an entry level job at his plant at the end of Colorado Street for $1.25 a day. A few weeks later he was the plant engineer and before the end of the year he was leasing the plant which he renamed Lone Star Ice Works.
Austin residents were skeptical that man-made ice would work, so Zilker staged a demonstration on Congress Avenue, with chunks of lake ice on one side and artificial ice on the other. The lake ice melted before the Lone Star ice and Zilker soon had more customers than his one ice house (with a maximum output of 1,000 pounds a day) could handle. He soon opened ice plants all over Central Texas and became Austin's first millionaire.
In 1904 Zilker opened an ice factory and steam plant in Llano, Texas which also sold electricity to local citizens who could afford it.
Zilker eventually died in 1934 having left behind a long legacy of hard work, and philanthropic deeds second to none. Citizens of the Austin and Barton Springs areas will recognize his name on many public buildings and parks.
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The moderator rating is a neutral rating of the content quality, photography, and coolness of this location.
| Category |
Rating |
| Photography |
5 / 10 |
| Coolness |
6 / 10 |
| Content Quality |
6 / 10 |
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This location's validation is current. It was last validated by
Emperor Wang on 10/25/2022 2:34 PM.
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on Oct 25 22 at 14:34, Emperor Wang validated this location
on Oct 25 22 at 14:34, Emperor Wang changed the following: History
on Oct 24 22 at 15:29, fr00tCake changed the following: Latitude, Longitude
on Oct 8 15 at 11:26, Mike Dijital validated this location
on Oct 7 15 at 17:55, Peptic Ulcer made this location public
on Oct 7 15 at 17:55, Peptic Ulcer made this location available
on Oct 7 15 at 17:55, Peptic Ulcer changed the following: History, Web Links
on Oct 7 15 at 17:54, Peptic Ulcer added some pictures to a gallery
on Oct 7 15 at 17:51, Peptic Ulcer added some pictures to a gallery
on Oct 7 15 at 17:50, Peptic Ulcer created a new gallery
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