Abandoned Dixie Brewery

The Tulane Avenue complex, closed after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, photographed in December 2009

Dixie Brewery — New Orleans, LA

The Dixie Brewing Company operated on Tulane Avenue in New Orleans for much of the twentieth century, making it one of the city's longest-running and best-known local beer producers before Hurricane Katrina forced the brewery to shut down in 2005.

The company had roots going back to the early twentieth century, and the Tulane Avenue complex grew into a substantial industrial campus of interconnected brick and frame buildings housing fermentation tanks, boiler rooms, loading floors, and multi-storey production halls with catwalks and gallery levels typical of large-scale brewery construction from that era.

When Katrina struck in August 2005, the brewery did not reopen. The buildings sat vacant in the years that followed, the courtyard filling with weeds while the interiors accumulated debris, discarded furniture, and deteriorating wooden floors and framing. The ornate wrought-iron entrance gates on Tulane Avenue remained standing through the abandonment, along with much of the original industrial equipment inside.

The site became widely known as a destination for urban explorers drawn to its scale and the relative intactness of its machinery and architecture. Redevelopment proposals circulated over the years, and the property eventually changed hands with plans to convert the complex into a new use, though the buildings spent well over a decade in a state of open decay after the storm.

Abandoned fermentation tanks in the yard of the closed Dixie Brewery on Tulane Avenue in New Orleans. — *December 4, 2009* — Dixie Brewery operated at this site on Tulane Avenue from 1907 until Hurricane Katrina forced its closure in 2005. Founded by Valentine Merz, the brewery was once one of the largest beer producers in the South, known for its Dixie Beer and Blackened Voodoo Lager brands. The circular concrete structures in the yard held the fermenting and lagering tanks used in the brewing process. Production never resumed at the original plant after the storm, and Dixie Beer is now contract-brewed elsewhere, leaving the historic complex vacant.

Deteriorating courtyard behind the abandoned Dixie Brewery on Tulane Avenue in New Orleans, with rusted metal stairway and — *December 4, 2009* — Dixie Brewery operated on Tulane Avenue in New Orleans from 1907 until Hurricane Katrina forced its closure in 2005. Founded by Valentine Merz, it was for decades the city's most recognized locally brewed beer, distributed throughout Louisiana and the Gulf South. The complex grew in stages over the twentieth century, combining brick production buildings with wood-frame additions used for storage and processing. After the storm, ownership disputes and unresolved insurance claims kept the site vacant for years, and the brand was eventually licensed out for brewing elsewhere while the original buildings sat empty.

Abandoned Dixie Brewery courtyard in New Orleans with concrete tank foundations and overgrown vegetation. — *December 4, 2009* — Dixie Brewing Company operated at this Tulane Avenue site from 1907 until Hurricane Katrina forced its closure in 2005. The circular concrete pads scattered across the courtyard once anchored large storage tanks used in the brewing process. Founded by Valentine Merz, Dixie was for decades the dominant local beer in New Orleans, sold under the "the beer you love, in the city you love." After the flood damaged the plant beyond repair, production moved elsewhere while the original buildings sat vacant. Wooden siding, exterior stairways, and open bays from the old production building still frame the overgrown yard.

Red steel door inside the abandoned Dixie Brewery building in New Orleans. — *December 4, 2009* — Dixie Brewery operated on Tulane Avenue in New Orleans from 1907 until Hurricane Katrina forced its closure in 2005. Founded by Valentine Merz, it was one of the last independent breweries in the South, known for Dixie Beer, a regional staple for much of the 20th century. Floodwaters and looting damaged the plant badly enough that production never resumed on site, though the Dixie Beer brand was later revived and brewed elsewhere. The building has sat empty since the storm, part of a stretch of Mid-City New Orleans slow to recover from the 2005 flooding.

Weathered industrial pendant lamp hangs inside the abandoned Dixie Brewery in New Orleans. — *December 4, 2009* — Dixie Brewery opened on Tulane Avenue in 1907 and brewed Dixie Beer for nearly a century, becoming one of New Orleans' best-known regional labels. Flooding and wind damage from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 forced the plant to shut down, and brewing operations never resumed at the site. The Dixie Beer brand was later revived and is now brewed elsewhere, while the original building has sat empty for close to two decades. Fixtures like this pendant lamp remain from the plant's working days, left in place as the structure awaits redevelopment.

Second-floor gallery interior of the abandoned Dixie Brewery on Tulane Avenue in New Orleans. — *December 4, 2009* — Dixie Brewery operated on Tulane Avenue from 1907 until Hurricane Katrina forced its closure in 2005. Founded by Valentine Merz, it was Louisiana's oldest brewery and once produced Dixie Beer, a regional staple sold throughout the South. The main production hall shows the timber framing and raised gallery level typical of early 20th-century brewhouse construction, built to accommodate brewing equipment and grain storage above the working floor. The site has stood vacant since the storm, with redevelopment plans debated for years amid its listing on preservation watch lists for historic industrial buildings in New Orleans.

Raised wooden platform and support columns inside the abandoned Dixie Brewery production floor in New Orleans. — *December 4, 2009* — Dixie Brewery opened in 1907 on Tulane Avenue and brewed Dixie Beer, once one of the best-known labels in New Orleans. Flooding from Hurricane Katrina in 2005 knocked out the brewery's equipment and forced production to move elsewhere under contract brewing arrangements. The Tulane Avenue building was never reopened for brewing and sat vacant for years afterward. Wooden support posts and a raised loading platform remain from the plant's original production floor.

Wooden support columns and plank flooring inside the abandoned Dixie Brewery in New Orleans. — *December 4, 2009* — Dixie Brewery operated on Tulane Avenue in New Orleans from 1907 until Hurricane Katrina forced its closure in 2005. The brand was founded by Valentine Merz and became one of the city's best-known regional beers before production shifted elsewhere and the original complex was abandoned. Wooden support columns and plank flooring throughout the building reflect its early-20th-century industrial construction. The site has remained vacant for years, subject to redevelopment proposals that stalled amid disputes over its historic status.

Wire-mesh partitions divide the abandoned production floor of the Dixie Brewery in New Orleans. — *December 4, 2009* — The Dixie Brewery operated at 2401 Tchoupitoulas Street from 1907 until Hurricane Katrina forced its closure in 2005. Founded by Valentine Merz, it was for decades the only brewery still operating in New Orleans, producing Dixie beer for regional distribution. Flooding and storm damage ended production at the site, and ownership later shifted brewing operations elsewhere while the original building sat vacant. The wood-frame floors and caged partitions inside date to the plant's early twentieth-century construction, built to separate work areas within the production floor.

Ornate wrought-iron gates at the entrance to the former Dixie Brewery on Tulane Avenue in New Orleans. — *December 4, 2009* — Dixie Brewery operated on Tulane Avenue from 1907 until Hurricane Katrina forced its closure in 2005, making it one of New Orleans' longest-running regional beer producers. The wrought-iron gates seen here mark one of the site's entrances, decorative ironwork typical of the era's industrial architecture. The brewery building was later added to the National Register of Historic Places, though redevelopment plans for the property have stalled for years amid disputes over its future.

Abandoned machine room at Dixie Brewery in New Orleans with industrial equipment bases and overhead piping. — *December 4, 2009* — Dixie Brewery operated on Tulane Avenue from 1907 until Hurricane Katrina forced its closure in 2005, making it one of the longest-running breweries in New Orleans history. The complex fell into disrepair in the years after the storm, with equipment and fixtures left in place as the buildings deteriorated. Floor-mounted machine bases and overhead piping remain from the brewery's production era, remnants of the systems once used to process and package beer. The property has been the subject of redevelopment proposals for years, though much of the original structure has continued to sit vacant.

Abandoned interior of Dixie Brewery in New Orleans filled with bagged debris and discarded furniture. — *December 4, 2009* — Dixie Brewery operated at 2401 Tulane Avenue in New Orleans from 1907 until Hurricane Katrina forced its closure in 2005. Founded by Valentine Merz, it was one of the city's last local breweries before shutting down, and its beer had been a regional staple for much of the 20th century. By the time this photo was taken in 2009, the plant had sat vacant for years, filled with abandoned furniture, bagged debris, and leftover industrial equipment from its final days of production.

Abandoned Dixie Brewery

Minneapolis Photographer