Designed by architect Barton Myers, it was built at a cost of $4.75 million and its entrance was a renovated late-19th century rack warehouse from the Seagram plant.

It had a variety of exhibits illustrating everyday life in the liquor distillery in the late 19th and early 20th century.

The company closed its Waterloo plant in 1992, and the museum continued to operate for another five years.

[1] Two former barrelhouses on the site were converted into condominia while the museum became an office building, leased to software company Waterloo Maple.

In July 2002, the city sold the building to the Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) for $2.5 million.