You'll see it when you’re driving east of St. Louis, rising up like a red beacon for hot dog lovers. Try to keep your eyes on the road when you pass this monumental condiment – the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle.
It's incredibly weird and if you like seeking out quirky Americana, you’ll want to head to this attraction that you can only find in Illinois. Here’s what you need to know about the world’s largest bottle of catsup.
The bottle is located next to Route 159, just south of Collinsville, a city that’s about 12 miles from St. Louis, Missouri.
The bottle is considered a perfect example of mid-20th century novelty architecture and it’s both a local landmark and a roadside attraction.
The bottle is not just decorative. It was built at a water tower in 1949 to supply water to the nearby Brooks Catsup plant – the company had the idea to make the water tower in the exact shape of one of the Brooks Catsup bottles.
At one time, Brooks was the top-selling catsup in America and it was hugely popular in the St. Louis area. You would have been hard-pressed to find a backyard cookout without a bottle of Brooks.
While the popularity of Brooks Catsup eventually faded, the tower continued to stand proudly in Collinsville. The tower is huge, standing 170-feet-tall!
Today it’s seen as a treasure worth preserving. It underwent a major restoration in the 1990s – volunteers raised over $80,000 for the work. It’s now listed on the National Register of Historic Places and it has its own fan club. People flock to this attraction every day of the week!
This giant catsup bottle is not Collinsville’s only claim to fame. The city also declares itself the world’s horseradish capital! The World’s Largest Catsup Bottle is just one of the weird and wonderful things you’ll find in the Land of Lincoln. Here are some more small towns with some crazy and surprising attractions.
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