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 space in Simi Valley, California. It was created by Tressa "Grandma" Prisbrey (1896–1988) between the 1950s and 1970s. Grandma Prisbrey built a "village" of special shrines, walkways, sculptures, and buildings. She made all of these from recycled items and things she found at the local dump.

Bottle Village is recognized as an important historical landmark. It has been named a landmark by the City of Simi Valley, Ventura County, and the State of California. It is also listed on the National Register of Historic Places since 1996.

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

Who Was Grandma Prisbrey?
- How the Bottle Village Started
Exploring Bottle Village
- Unique Creations and Themes
Earthquake Damage and Funding Challenges
Exhibitions Featuring Bottle Village
Gallery of images
See also

Who Was Grandma Prisbrey?

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

How the Bottle Village Started

Ten years after moving to Santa Susana, Tressa met her husband, Al Prisbrey. They bought a small piece of land on Cochran Street. Tressa had a huge collection of 17,000 pencils, which was her hobby. She wanted a special place to keep them.

At 60 years old, she decided to build a house for her pencils. She looked for building blocks, but they were too expensive. So, she went to a local dump and found thousands of colorful bottles. She started mixing cement by hand and built her first bottle house. Tressa said she didn't build the village for fame. She wanted a place to keep her things and to show that everything has a purpose and is special.

The Bottle Village was mostly finished by 1961. However, Grandma Prisbrey kept adding new structures and details until the 1980s. She moved away in 1972 but later returned to live near the village. She continued to add sculptures and flower planters.

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

Exploring Bottle Village

Grandma Prisbrey started with one wall and kept building. She created 16 buildings and structures. These were made from glass bottles and many other recycled materials. She also made a mosaic sidewalk, the Leaning Tower of Bottle Village, the Dolls Head Shrine, Cleopatra's Bedroom, and the Round House. The Los Angeles Times newspaper 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, friends, and important life events. She used it to cope with losing family members and to entertain visitors. The village is a testament to her unique vision and creativity. It's special because it was built entirely from everyday items that people threw away in the 1950s and 1960s.

Unique Creations and Themes

Grandma Prisbrey built everything by hand, using only recycled materials. One special shrine is called The Headlight Garden. She made this garden for her daughter, who loved flowers. It was made from old car headlights and other recycled items. Grandma Prisbrey said that the roses in the garden died the same day her daughter passed away.

The village also has stepping stones shaped like hearts, diamonds, and spades. These symbolize a trip Prisbrey took to Las Vegas. She made the cement forms and filled them with random recycled items like scissors. There are also wishing wells made from tiles, and the ground is paved with recycled materials. A doll house was built to hold her collection of 600 dolls. Prisbrey used to go into that house every day to dress some of the dolls.

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 end the tour in her meditation room, where she would sing songs. She charged only 75 cents for a visit, but people often gave her more.

Earthquake Damage and Funding Challenges

The 1994 Northridge earthquake caused severe damage to Bottle Village. Because of this, the Preserve Bottle Village group asked for money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). In 1997, it looked like FEMA would give a large grant to help with repairs. However, the grant was lost after some local officials opposed it. They said it was a waste of taxpayer money. Also, FEMA decided the site was not eligible for disaster relief because it had not been open to the public since 1984.

Since the earthquake, Bottle Village has needed a lot of support and funding. The artist Joanne Johnson, who helped with tours, once wrote that the "crumbling Bottle Village is an ironic paradox – built from castoffs, now cast aside." Because of the damage, there isn't much activity at the site. It can be hard to book personal tours, but monthly private tours are available through the Bottle Village website.

Preserve Bottle Village continues to work on preserving the site. They have received some grants from private foundations to help with the restoration efforts.

Exhibitions Featuring Bottle Village

Grandma Prisbrey's Bottle Village has been featured in many art exhibitions. These shows helped people learn about her unique folk art.

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