The Rainier Brewing Co. Bottling works is the last vestige of a significant brewing industry in Reno in the early 20th century. Small breweries were important economically and socially to Reno up until Prohibition. This brick bottling plant stands as a reminder of those days.

A spur track was built that ended at Rainier's plant, so beer probably was shipped in kegs from a brewery in Washington state. Beer was bottled here until 1919 when the passage of the 18th amendment and the Volstead Act brought an end to operations.

Beginning in the early 1920s, a number of businesses owned the building. These included the Nevada National Ice and Cold Storage Company, National Coal Co., National Ice Co., National Oil and Burner Co., and Ice House Antiques.

The antique store occupied the building in 1980 when it was listed on the NRHP.

Source: Adapted from the NRHP Nomination Form submitted in 1980.