To retain the cold air, the five-story building has walls which are two feet thick and there are not many windows.

The developer has been involved with converting buildings in Milwaukee for use as apartments The Milwaukee Cold Storage Co. Building was constructed in 1892 as a place to store and distribute "butter, cheese, eggs, fruit, game, poultry" and other items.

The building was constructed for $100,000 (equivalent to $3,400,000 in 2023[2]) and could store 500 train-car loads [A 1] of perishable items at temperatures between 10 and 60 °F (−12 and 16 °C).

The building is in the style of Romanesque Revival architecture[6] and it has 2 ft (0.61 m) walls made of Cream City brick.

The Milwaukee Cold Storage Company lost a large quantity of nuts and perishable foods which were stored on the fifth floor as a result of the ammonia fumes.

The Milwaukee Cold Storage Company sued the manufacturer of the refrigeration system, the York Corporation.