User:Douglas Coldwell/Sandboxes/173
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| Kaleve Bottle House | |
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| U.S. National Register of Historic Places | |
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| Location: | Kaleva, Michigan |
| Coordinates: | Coordinates: |
| Area: | Western Michigan |
| Built/Founded: | 1941 |
| Architect: | John J. Makinen Sr. |
| Architectural style(s): | Bottle house |
| Added to NRHP: | July 7, 1987 |
| NRHP Reference#: | 87000423 |
| Governing body: | Kaleva Historical Museum |
John J. Makinen Bottle House (a.k.a. Kaleva Bottle House, Kaleva Bottle House Museum, and Kaleva Historical Museum) is a house built of bottle wall construction in 1941 by John J. Makinen, Sr. It is located in Kaleva, Michigan. Construction uses over 60,000 bottles laid on their sides with the bottoms toward the exterior.[1][2]
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[edit] History
Makinen was a native of Finland and moved to northwestern Michigan in 1903. He owned and operated The Northwestern Bottling Works Company in Kaleva. He died just before he and his family were to move into the new bottle house.[2]
Most of the bottles came from his bottling plant as the bottom of the bottles reveal. There is a large variety of bottles that were used for many products, including drinks, wine, beer, and liqueur. The bottles were not only round, but diagonal in shape as well. The bottles are arranged with clear bottles and brown color bottles on the front of the house to spell "HAPPY HOME."
[edit] Museum
In 1980 the building was purchased by the Kaleva Historical Society and renovated it for the Kaleva Historical Museum. They then purchased it in 1981 for a museum. The museum includes nineteenth century and twentieth century items relating to lumbering, farming, homemaking, office machines, and railroads. It also has information on the local area schools.[1]
It is listed on the National Register of Historical Sites and the Michigan Register of Historical Sites[1] as the plaques in front of the house show.
[edit] Corking
The term "pop", for carbonated soft drinks, originated in northern Michigan. The museum claims that perhaps it came from The Northwestern Bottling Works Company. It is from the onomatopoeia of the "POP" sound the early carbonated drinks would make when their corks would fly off. It turns out in the early bottling techniques to seal the beverage in its bottle with the cork it could not withstand the pressure of the carbonation. On occassion then the cork would blow out of the bottle from the pressure and a loud "POP" sound would be produced.[2]
[edit] Children
Early in the opening of the Kaleva Bottle House Museum many times the children coming through it wanted to see just...the bathroom! It seems that the bathtub had been featured in a Nickelodeon show with a sock puppet. All the kids wanted to see then was their sock puppet character's bathtub and were not all that interested in the bottles as their parents were.[2]
[edit] References
[Category:National Register of Historic Places]] [Category:Registered Historic Places in Michigan]] [Category:Manistee County, Michigan]] [Category:History of Michigan]] [Category:Houses in Michigan]] [Category:Museums in Michigan]] [Category:Building materials]] [Category:Historic house museums]] [Category:History museums]]
