History:
Texas Icehouse was built in 1913 and served as an old fashioned ice house under the name “Texas Ice House” providing ice for railroad train rail cars which ran adjacent to the facility, transported foods and required ice to avoid spoilage. Due to its convenient location adjacent to 2 major railroads, Texas Ice caused its local ice producing competitors to lose so much business, they joined together, bought the business and subsequently closed the entire operation.
The building sat empty until 1940 when it was purchased by the Hinckley family. The Hinckleys manufactured and sold cotton gin equipment to cotton farmers in the Texas area. The Hinckleys were approached by individuals who needed refrigerated cooler and freezer spaces, they fired up the compressors in order to serve this need and thus “Hinckley Cold Storage” was born. Hundreds of local food service businesses got their start in the Hinckley facility including TCBY Yogurt which now is an international company.
Serving North Texas as Hinckley Cold Storage for decades, the facility’s original name, Texas Icehouse was restored in 1997.
The building was used as a location in the film “Bottle Rocket” which starred 2 local aspiring actors, “Owen Wilson” and “Luke Wilson”, and was directed by “Wes Anderson”. Owen, Luke and Wes have now gone on to become famous in the film industry.
