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Giant Milk Bottles

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Benewah Milk Bottle #1
Garland St.
Spokane, WA		 Benewah Milk Bottle #2
S. Cedar St.
Spokane, WA
These Milk Bottles in Spokane were designed in 1934 by Whitehouse and Price. They stand 38 feet tall and are 15 feet wide. The body of the bottles are wood and wire mesh covered with stucco. The neck and cap are sheet metal over a wooden frame. The owner, Paul E. Newport, had six or seven of these milk bottles built as retail outlets for his Benewah Dairy Company. The bottles were designed to make milk appealing to children. The company folded in 1972 and only these two bottles remain. Another on Perry St. was converted into a windmill but seems to be gone.

Bottle #1 was built in 1934. It was used as a junk shop before around 1994 when it was taken over by Mary Lou's Milk Bottle Restaurant. The building was badly damaged in 2011. However, the bottle was spared and the restaurant reopened in 2012. These photos are from 2016. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Bottle #2 was built in 1935. It appeared to be vacant in 2007. By 2011, the building housed the Plaster Shop. Since at least 2013, the building housed Mr. Chimney & Masonry. These photos are from 2016. By 2017, the bottle was being used by Stepping Stones Pediatric Therapy which occupies the building next door. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Milk Bottle [gone?]
Libertyville, IL		 Milk Bottle
Bloomfield, CT		 Harbisons Dairies
Philadelphia, PA
The Milk Bottle in Libertyville was about 10 feet tall. It was installed at Lambs Farm. The bottle came from the roof of Joe's Fireside restaurant in Libertyville. It had been installed there since at least the 1950s, possibly the 1940s. The building later housed a Chinese restaurant which was destroyed by a fire. The bottle was saved from the rubble. This photo is from 2012. By 2018, the bottle had either been moved or was in a different spot at the farm. For more, see this website.

The Milk Bottle in Bloomfield is just over five feet tall. It appears to be made of cement. The bottle stands in front of Maple Hill Farms which has been around since 1928. [map]

The Harbisons Dairies' water tower was built around 1914. There were four other locations with these milk bottles. They are all gone but this one. Harbisons Dairies no longer exists. These photos are from 2012. In 2020, the bottle was restored and painted white. The building was also restored for apartments. For more, see this website. [advertisement scan thanks Gene Hanlon] [map]

former Cairns
Creameries plant
Niagara Falls, ON		 Guaranteed
Milk Bottle
Montreal, QC
The Cairns Creameries plant, with its milk bottle entrance, was built in 1928. The company was sold in 1930 to Bordens Dairy which operated here until 1974. In the late 1980s, the building was converted into a nightclub/restaurant. It was known as the "Roman Court", "Castle Rock" and "The Basement" over the years. In 2006, the building was renovated for the Sterling Inn & Spa. [map]

The Milk Bottle in Montreal was originally used as a water tower for the Guaranteed Dairy Building which was built here in 1930. The giant steel bottle is about 32 feet tall and 12 feet wide. The lettering used to spell out "Guaranteed Pure Milk". The bottle had obviously been neglected for many years. In 2009 after this photo was taken, it was completely restored. [map]

Milk Bottle
Memphis, TN
2007: 2019:
The Milk Bottle functioned as a water tower. It was built in the 1940s and installed on the roof of the Reed Brothers Dairy building. The bottle is 20 feet tall. After the photos above from 2007 were taken, the base of the bottle was covered with graffiti. In 2012, before the building was demolished, the bottle was donated to the Children's Museum of Memphis. It was refurbished and installed at the museum in 2013. For more, see this website. [map]

Steigerwald Dairy Building
Portland, OR
2008: 2015:
The Steigerwald Dairy Building was built in 1926 in the shape of a milk bottle. In 1936, when a paint store moved in, the building was covered up with plaster and transformed into two paint cans. In the 1940s, an animated neon 7-Up sign was installed on top of the building. In 2003, that sign was adapted as a Budweiser sign. The building was vacant when this photo was taken in 2008. By 2014, the building was housing the Mountain Shop and the sign had been adapted for Directors Mortgage. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, and 3. [map]

Bottlegate Farm
Kent, NY
Bottlegate Farm has two eight foot tall and two four-foot-tall bottles at its entrance. This place was once a dairy farm. [map]

Milk Bottle
Whately, MA		 Milk Bottle
Corpus Christi, TX
The Quonquont Dairy Milk Bottle in Whately was built around 1926 and was used for selling sandwiches, pie and ice cream. The dairy operated from 1923-1943. Another source says that the Bottle was used from 1932-1942. The Bottle is made of cement and is 16 feet tall. In 1951, it was moved across the street. In 1990, the Bottle was donated to the Whately Historical Society who have taken care of it since then. The Bottle was restored and moved again in 1995. These photos are from 2009. In 2013, the Bottle was restored again. [map]

This reinforced concrete Milk Bottle in Corpus Christi was built sometime between 1929 and 1937. It is about 15 feet tall and stood in front of the Grisham's Ice Cream Co. In 1937, the bottle was moved to its current location where it shared the property with the North Beach Trailer Park. At that time, the bottle was used as a milk and ice cream stand for Grisham's. In the early 1950s, the property was sold and became the North Beach RV Park. At the same time, Grisham's was sold to another dairy company. The bottle probably stopped serving as an ice cream stand at that point. It was used as a telephone booth for awhile but it has been used for storage since the 1960s. For more, see this website. [map]

Milk Bottle
Templeton, CA
2014: 2018:
The Milk Bottle in Templeton originally advertised for the Rossi Brothers' Crescent Dairy which was located directly behind it. The bottle faced Highway 101. It was built in the 1930s from stucco. It is about 12 feet tall. There is a small door on the backside of it. In the 1950s, the bottle was moved across the road when the freeway was built. In 2017, the bottle was moved to the Templeton Historical Museum Society. [map]

Richmond Dairy Building
Richmond, VA
The Richmond Dairy was built in 1913. In 1999, the building was converted into rental apartments at a cost of nearly $8 million. There are three 16-foot-tall milk bottles at the corners of the building. This building is similar to the Polk's Dairy which was located in Indianapolis, IN. I'm not sure which came first or if one was modeled after the other. For more, see this website. [map]

Milk Bottle
Oklahoma City, OK		 Milk Bottle
Michigan City, IN		 Milk Bottle [gone]
Irvington, NJ
The Milk Bottle in Oklahoma City was installed on top of this building in 1948 by Sterling Milk. It is made of sheet metal and is about 18 feet tall. It later advertised for Meadow Gold, Steffen's Dairy and, after that, the Townley Dairy. The bottle has advertised for Braum's Dairy since 1996. The building housed Saigon Baguette, a French-Vietnamese bakery, for many years. The building was vacant when these photos were taken in 2020. In 2021, the Bottle was repainted with the Braum's label. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

The Milk Bottle in Michigan City is installed on the roof of La Rocco's Floor Coverings. The building was once occupied by a milk delivery company. [map]

The Milk Bottle in Irvington was installed on the roof of Dairyland, an ice cream parlor. The bottle was 9 feet tall and made of metal. The clock hadn't worked in decades. The Dairyland Ice Cream Company was founded in 1900 at this building which served as a dairy production plant. In 1972, the company began focusing on ice cream. There were a few other locations in the area but this is the only one left. In 2019, the bottle disappeared from the roof.

Milk Bottle
Joliet, IL		 Skip's
Milk Bottle [gone]
Chelmsford, MA		 City Dairy Co.
Toronto, ON
The Milk Bottle in Joliet stands in front of what used to be the Weber Dairy Co. plant. The bottle has been here since at least the mid-1960s. The building is no longer used for milk production but is still called the Dairy Center. For more, see this website. [map]

Skip's Restaurant had an ice cream stand next door. The stand closed around 2000 and the restaurant closed in 2008. This bottle was approximately eight feet tall and was originally installed on the roof of the stand. When the stand was replaced with a car wash, the bottle was moved to the back corner of the lot. By 2010, it was gone. It is now in a private collection.

The City Dairy Co. bottle is a tribute to Toronto's first dairy which was founded in 1900. The City Dairy factory building is located nearby and is now used by the University of Toronto. This sculpture was created by Stephen Cruise in 1997 and is mounted on a 20-foot-tall pole. [map]

Milk Bottle
Fresno, CA
2018: 2020:
This Milk Bottle in Fresno is located at the Big Fresno Fair. I believe this was built in 2008 when Dairyville was added to the fairgrounds. It was repainted between 2018 and 2020.

HP Hood Milk Bottle
Boston, MA		 Frates Dairy Milk Bottle
Raynham, MA
The Hood Milk Bottle is 40 feet tall and 18 feet in diameter. If it were real, would hold 50,000 gallons of milk. This wooden bottle was built in 1933. It was originally located in Taunton, MA. It was used as an ice cream stand until 1967. The Bottle remained vacant for eight years until Hood Milk was persuaded to buy it. In 1977, the Bottle was cut into three sections and moved by barge to Boston's Museum Wharf. During the move, it briefly stopped at the Milk Bottle in Raynham. The Hood Bottle was completely renovated in 2007. It is located next to the Children's Museum and serves as an ice cream stand and snack bar. Hood is the biggest dairy company in New England and was founded in 1846. The Bottle was restored again in 2020. For more, see these websites: 1, 2, 3, and 4. [map]

The Frates Dairy Milk Bottle in Raynham was built in 1926. It was one of three giant milk bottles built by the Frates Dairy Company around 1930. Another one survives in New Bedford (see below). The third one, in Norton, MA, has been demolished. They were designed by Les Labrose and painted white with a cream color close to the brim.

The Frates Bottle in Raynham now operates as the Milk Bottle Restaurant. It still serves ice cream take-out through the front windows. The restaurant is attached behind it. The bottle is about 50 feet tall and 20 feet in diameter. For more, see this website. [map]

Frates Dairy Milk Bottle
New Bedford, MA
2001 2010
This Frates Dairy Milk Bottle was built in 1930. It is 52 feet tall. The building served as an ice cream stand until around 2005. It has housed G&S Pizza since 2006. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. [map]

Voss Bar-B-Q
Yorkville, NY
Voss Bar-B-Q has a 12-foot-tall milk bottle on its roof. Voss opened its dairy and ice cream stand here in 1937. Originally, the bottle was made of tin and outlined in neon. The neon hot dog sign is 16 feet wide. Hot dogs were added to the menu in 1950. [map]

More Milk Bottles:
Milk Bottle Water Tank (Topanga, CA) [private property]
New Britain Stadium (New Britain, CT)
Halifax Creamery (Daytona Beach, FL) [gone]
Edward A. LeLacheur Park (Lowell, MA)
Asselin Dairy (Norway, MI) [gone]
Spring City, PA [map]
Uhland, TX [gone?]
West Allis, WI
Edmonton, AB
Thunder Bay, ON [vintage; gone]

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