BELLEVILLE, Ill. (AP) — Would you relish having a towering
ketchup bottle? That emblem of roadside Americana could be yours if
you fork over enough money.
A "For Sale" sign is in front of what's billed as the "World's
Largest Bottle of Catsup," the landmark that once served as a water
tower in the city of Collinsville, east of St. Louis, the
Belleville News-Democrat (http://bit.ly/1kPMozA) reported
Tuesday.
The asking price for the 65-year-old, 170-foot-tall landmark is
$200,000, with the warehouse adjacent to it listed at $300,000.
The landmark replicates a bottle of Brooks Old Original Rich and
Tangy Catsup, which was produced in the buildings beneath the
tower. The 100,000-gallon tower held water — never ketchup — and it
hasn't been used since Brooks moved out in the early 1960s.
The plant later became a warehouse used for shipping and trucking
operations of Bethel-Eckert, which for four decades serviced
military commissaries before losing its contracts. Larry Eckert,
the owner, initially considered selling the ketchup bottle and
warehouse separately, then decided one can't go without the
other.
"Whoever would be interested, you'd need the additional land
anyway," he said.
Eckert said because the ketchup bottle is on the National Register
of Historic Places, he expects the eventual buyer to preserve
it.
A “For Sale” sign is seen Tuesday, July 22, 2014, in front of
what's billed as the "World's Largest Bottle of Catsup" that once
served as a water tower in the city of Collinsville, Ill. The
landmark replicates a bottle of Brooks Old Original Rich and Tangy
Catsup, which was produced in the buildings beneath the tower. The
100,000-gallon tower held water _ never ketchup _ and hasn't been
used since Brooks moved out in the early 1960s
