Peck's Bottle House
Tonopah, NV |
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William F. Peck's Bottle House is believed to be the earliest example of the Bottle House phenomenon. Built in 1902, it was torn down in the early 1980s. It was sturdy and square, and made with 10,000 beer bottles. A few odd, square-shaped bottles appeared near the doorway. These were from Jhostetters’ Stomach Bitters which was 90% alcohol and 10% opium.
Short of building materials, early mining camp settlers made their shelters out of whatever they could get their hands on, including discarded bottles. Saloons were among the first commercial structures in the camps so there were plenty of liquor bottles on hand. There was another house in Tonopah built entirely of coal oil cans and another made from barrels (1, 2). For more about Nevada's old bottle houses, see this website.
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Calico Bottle House
Yermo, CA |
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Knott's Berry Farm Bottle House
Buena Park, CA |
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The Calico Bottle House was built after 1951 when Walter Knott began restoring the Calico Ghost Town as a tourist attraction. The Bottle House was built with more than 5,000 bottles. In 1966, Knott of Knott's Berry Farm amusement park fame donated the town to San Bernardino County. The Bottle House was empty until 2013 when it was put to use as The Dog House which sells dog treats. For more, see this website.
The Knott's Berry Farm Bottle House was built from more than 3,000 bottles. It is used as the "Indian Trader" store today. Walter Knott visited the Rhyolite Bottle House in the early 1950s. It is believed that both the Calico and Knott's Berry Farm buildings were modeled after the Rhyolite building. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.
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Bottle House
Washington Court, OH |
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The Washington Court Bottle House was made with 9,963 bottles of all sizes and colors. The builder collected bottles and to preserve his collection he had them built into this house. This was an attraction at Meyer’s Modern Tourist Court (most likely built later). There is no info available about this place so I assume it has been destroyed.
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Bottle House
Oriental, NC |
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This Bottle House was built in 1951 by William Branch Hodges. It is made entirely of beer bottles and was used as a storage shed behind his house.
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Bottle House Gift Shop
Alexandria, LA |
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The Alexandria Bottle House Gift Shop was built by Drew Bridges who used bottles from his drugstore next door. Friends also contributed wine bottles to include in its construction. There were about 3,000 bottles used with railroad ties serving as beams. Today, the building is in someone's backyard. So I'm not sure if the building was moved or if the neighborhood grew up around it. [photos second and third rows thanks LaDonna Bernard]
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Bottle House
Wimberley, TX |
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The Wimberley Bottle House was created in the early 1960s as part of Pioneer Town, a simulated Old West town/tourist attraction. The House was made with more than 9,000 soda bottles and wood. It was modeled after the Bottle House at Knott's Berry Farm. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3.
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The Kaleva Bottle House built by John Makinen in the 1940s with over 60,000 bottles. Most of the bottles came from Makinen's factory, the Northwestern Bottling Works. He completed the house in 1941, but died before his family moved into it. In 1980, the building was purchased by the Kaleva Historical Society, which renovated it to house the Kaleva Historical Museum. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, and 4.
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Bottle House [gone]
Flowood, MS |
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The Flowood Bottle House was built by William Carl Middleton, aka Big Daddy, in the 1970s. He collected bottles of all types on his walks and decided to build a workshop with them. There were Coca-Cola bottles from all fifty states. The property had been sold long ago by the time these photos were taken in 2007. The building was demolished in 2014. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.
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Copyright. All photos at this website are copyrighted and may only be used with my consent. This includes posting them at Facebook, Pinterest, blogs, other websites, personal use, etc.
Tips & Updates. If you have suggestions about places that I haven't covered, historical info, or updates about places/things that have been remodeled or removed, I'd love to hear from you: roadarch@outlook.com.
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