Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district

Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village, September 2008
Location in California Show map of California Location in the United States Show map of the United States
Location	4595 Cochran St Simi Valley, California
Architect	Tressa "Grandma" Prisbrey
NRHP reference No.	96001076
Added to NRHP	October 25, 1996

Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village, also known as Bottle Village, is a unique art place in Simi Valley, California. A creative woman named Tressa "Grandma" Prisbrey (1896–1988) built it. She worked on it from the 1950s to the 1970s.

Grandma Prisbrey made a "village" of small buildings, paths, and sculptures. She used recycled items and things found at the local dump. Bottle Village is now a historical landmark. It is recognized by the City of Simi Valley, Ventura County, and the State of California. It was also added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.

The village closed in 1984. It was badly damaged by the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

Meet Grandma Prisbrey
Exploring Bottle Village
Earthquake Damage and Efforts to Rebuild
Exhibitions Featuring Bottle Village
Images for kids
See also

Meet Grandma Prisbrey

Tressa Luella Schaefer was born in Easton, Minnesota in 1896. She went to school until she was twelve. Later, she moved to Santa Susana, which is now part of Simi Valley, California. This was in 1946.

Ten years later, Tressa met her husband, Al Prisbrey. He bought a small piece of land on Cochran Street. They brought a trailer to live in there.

Tressa had a big collection of 17,000 pencils. She wanted a special place to keep them. She thought about buying building blocks, but they were too expensive. So, she started looking for materials at a local dump. There, she found thousands of colorful bottles.

At 60 years old, Tressa began to build. She mixed cement by hand and built her first bottle house. She said she didn't build it for attention. She wanted a place for her things. She believed that everything has a purpose and is special. This idea is clear throughout Bottle Village.

By 1961, the village was mostly built. But Grandma Prisbrey kept adding new structures and details until the 1980s. In 1972, she moved away for a bit. She later returned to live near the village. She continued to add sculptures and flower planters.

In 1982, Grandma Prisbrey moved to San Francisco because of her health. In 1986, the property was given to a group called Preserve Bottle Village. Grandma Prisbrey passed away in 1988.

Exploring Bottle Village

Grandma Prisbrey started with just one wall. She kept building until she had 16 unique structures. These were made from glass bottles and other recycled items. She created a mosaic sidewalk and famous pieces like the Leaning Tower of Bottle Village. Other parts include the Dolls Head Shrine and Cleopatra's Bedroom. The Los Angeles Times called Bottle Village an "eccentric folk-art wonderland."

Art experts see Bottle Village as a complex work of art. It shows Grandma Prisbrey's desire to protect her collections. It also helped her remember family and friends. She used her art to deal with sadness over losing loved ones. The village was also a way for her to entertain visitors. It is a testament to her unique vision and energy.

Everything in Bottle Village was made by hand. Grandma Prisbrey used only recycled materials. For example, she made a special place called The Headlight Garden. This garden was for her daughter who had cancer. Her daughter loved flowers. So, Prisbrey made a rose garden using old headlights and other recycled items. She said that the roses died the day her daughter passed away.

You can also find stepping stones shaped like hearts, diamonds, and spades. These remember a trip Prisbrey took to Las Vegas. She filled them with interesting items like scissors. Bottle Village also has wishing wells made from tiles. The ground is paved with recycled materials. There's even a doll shrine and a leaning tower made of bottles.

Each building has its own special theme. A doll house was built to hold her collection of 600 dolls. Grandma Prisbrey would go into that house every day to dress some of them.

Grandma Prisbrey once said, "Anyone can do something with a million dollars. Look at Disney. But it takes more than money to make something out of nothing, and look at the fun I have doing it." When visitors came, she would give them a tour. She would then invite them to her meditation room. There, she would sing songs. She charged 75 cents for a visit, but people often gave her more.

Earthquake Damage and Efforts to Rebuild

The 1994 Northridge earthquake caused severe damage to Bottle Village. The site was only eight miles from the earthquake's center. Because of the damage, the group Preserve Bottle Village tried to get funding from FEMA. However, this funding was later denied. Some officials argued it was a waste of money. They also said the site had not been open to the public since 1984.

Despite this, some local groups helped. The Simi Valley Historical Society and Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District gave about $150,000. This helped restore an old apricot shed. The City of Simi Valley also contributed at least $24,000. This money helped fix a 1920s woodshed.

Since the earthquake, Bottle Village has needed a lot of help and money. It is currently in disrepair. It is hard to book personal tours. However, monthly private tours are available through the website www.bottlevillage.com.

Preserve Bottle Village continues to work hard to save the site. They talk with private foundations to get grants. They have received some generous grants from different foundations.

Exhibitions Featuring Bottle Village

Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village has been featured in many art exhibitions. These shows helped share her unique art with more people.

1974–1976: "Naives and Visionaries" (Minneapolis, MN)
1975: "America Now" (traveling European exhibition)
1976: "Grandma Prisbrey" (Los Angeles, CA)
1977: "In Celebration of Ourselves" (San Francisco, CA)
1979–1981: "A Look at the Art of the 70's" (traveling exhibition)
1984: "Visions of Paradise" (Venice, CA)
1984: "Bits and Pieces: The Dream-builders of California" (San Francisco, CA)
1985: "Divine Disorder: Folk Art Environments of California" (traveling exhibition)
1985–1986: "A Time to Reap" (traveling exhibition)
1986: "Cat and a Ball on a Waterfall: 200 Years of California Painting and Sculpture" (Oakland, CA)
1988: "Not so Naive: Bay Area Artists and Outsider Art" (San Francisco, CA)
1989: "Forty Years of California Assemblage" (traveling exhibition)
1989: "Women in American Architecture" (traveling exhibition)
1990: "Ageless" (Los Angeles, CA)
1992: "Reflections of Bottle Village" (Simi Valley, CA)
1995: "Visions from the Left Coast" (Santa Barbara, CA)
1996–1999: "Recycled-Reseen" (traveling exhibition)
2000: Outsider Art window display (Santa Monica, CA)