The Bottle, Alabama facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
The Bottle
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A 1924 picture of "The Bottle"
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 The Bottle
Location in Alabama
The Bottle
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Alabama |
| County | Lee |
| Elevation | 761 ft (232 m) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (CST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-6 (EDT) |
| GNIS feature ID | 153675 |
The Bottle is a small community in Alabama, USA. It is located just north of Auburn, Alabama. This area is special because it sits where two major roads meet: U.S. Highway 280 and Alabama Highway 147. It's about 5 miles (8 kilometers) north of downtown Auburn.
The Bottle gets its name from a giant, bright orange wooden replica of a Nehi soda bottle. This huge bottle stood here from 1924 to 1936. Because of its unusual name, The Bottle is often mentioned on lists of strange place names. The area is located at 32°40′34″N 85°29′11″W and is about 760 feet (232 meters) above sea level.
Contents
The Giant Bottle's Story
Building the World's Largest Bottle
The famous Bottle structure was built in 1924. It was known as "the world's largest bottle." Sometimes, people called it "The Nehi Inn." A man named John F. Williams built it. He owned the Nehi Bottling Company in Opelika, Alabama.
The Bottle was truly huge!
- It stood 64 feet (19.5 meters) tall.
- Its base was 49 feet (15 meters) wide.
- The "bottle cap" at the top was 16 feet (4.9 meters) wide.
What Was Inside?
The ground floor of The Bottle was a busy place. It had a grocery store and a gas station. The second and third floors were used as living spaces and for storage. The neck of the giant bottle even had windows! This allowed people to use it as an observation tower. The "bottle cap" was actually the roof. Inside, a beautiful spiral oak stairway connected the different floors.
A Popular Meeting Spot
The Bottle quickly became a popular gathering place. Tourists and local people loved to visit. They would share stories and have parties every Friday night. These parties often happened on the balcony above the gas station.
Some very famous people even stopped by The Bottle!
- President Franklin Delano Roosevelt visited briefly after being in Auburn.
- Grand Ole Opry comedian Minnie Pearl also made a stop.
The Bottle's End
Sadly, the giant Bottle structure burned down. According to one story from 2001, it burned at 5:00 AM in the fall of 1936. However, old newspapers from that time give different dates. Some say it burned in 1933, 1935, or 1937. Even though the original building is gone, a special historic plaque and a photograph mark its location. Also, maps of Alabama still show the area as "The Bottle."
The Bottle Today
Today, the spot where the giant Bottle once stood is an empty lot. The property was put up for sale in 2005. In early 2006, a company called Hayley Redd Development Company bought the land.
Gallery
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The Auburn Heritage Association held a historic marker dedication for "The Bottle" on April 25, 2015, at the corner of U.S. Highway 280 and Alabama Highway 147 (North College Street), which is the original location of "The Bottle".
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"The Bottle" (2006)
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