The Gadsby's Tavern Ice Well

In 1793, the Alexandria Common Council granted John Wise permission to build an icehouse beneath the corner of Royal and Cameron Streets as part of his new City Tavern. This brick-lined ice well was a unique architectural feature, much larger than most ice wells, and could store up to 62 tons of ice, enough to supply the tavern and the citizens of Alexandria. Blocks of ice harvested from the Potomac River were lowered through a hatch at street level, pounded into one large mass, and covered with straw to limit melting. John Gadsby, who leased the tavern from John Wise in 1796, capitalized on ice as an amenity, selling it to the public for eight cents per pound in 1805. A brick-lined tunnel led from the tavern's basement to the ice well so ice for chilled beverages and perishable food items could be readily retrieved, and the well measured up to 17 feet 3 inches in diameter at its largest point.

Alexandria, Virginia · United States