"The World's Largest Catsup Bottle® stands proudly next to Route 159, just south of downtown Collinsville, Illinois. This unique 170 ft. tall water tower was built in 1949 by the W.E. Caldwell Company for the G.S. Suppiger catsup bottling plant - bottlers of Brooks old original rich & tangy catsup," the official website says.

"In 1995, due to the efforts of the Catsup Bottle Preservation Group, this landmark roadside attraction was saved from demolition and beautifully restored to its original appearance. In August of 2002 it was named to the National Register of Historic Places.

"Recognized the world over as an excellent example of 20th century roadside Americana, the World's Largest Catsup Bottle regularly garners national attention and attracts visitors and tourists every day."

"Looming over Collinsville, this is an internationally known roadside attraction that was even mention in a "Twilight" film," the Enjoy Illinois says.

"The World's Largest Catsup Bottle® stands proudly next to Route 159, just south of downtown Collinsville, Illinois.

"This unique 170 ft. tall water tower was built in 1949 by the W.E. Caldwell Company for the G.S. Suppiger catsup bottling plant - bottlers of Brooks old original rich & tangy catsup."

"The Brooks Catsup Bottle water tower, trademarked "The World's Largest Catsup Bottle", is a water tower south of Collinsville, Illinois. It is claimed to be the largest catsup bottle in the world at 70 feet tall on a 100 foot stand with a volume of 100,000 gallons, which could theoretically hold 640,000 bottles of catsup. As a prime example of mid-20th-century novelty architecture, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The tower is most notable in its capacity as a regional landmark and as a roadside attraction.

"The water tower was constructed in 1949 by the W.E. Caldwell Company of Louisville, Kentucky.[3] The tower was built to supply water to the nearby Brooks catsup plant owned by the G.S. Suppiger Company. The president of the company, Gerhart S. Suppiger, is credited with the suggestion that the water tower be designed to resemble one of the company's catsup bottles.



"In 1993, the owners of the Brooks plant, Curtice-Burns, Inc., prepared to sell the property. It offered the water tower to the nearby city of Collinsville, but the city declined to purchase it due to the high projected cost of repairs and restoration. Over the course of two years, volunteers raised $80,000 to "repair, strip, and paint" the aging structure. The project was completed in June 1995, and the structure was added to the National Register of Historic Places in August 2002."  (Wikipedia)

"Situated just south of downtown Collinsville, Illinois, the world’s largest Catsup bottle stands tall and proud. Completed in October 1949 as the water tower for a now-shuttered Brooks Foods plant at a cost exceeding $23,000, the 170-foot-tall water tower still advertises Brooks’ original rich and tangy catsup," the Atlas Obscura says.



"If filled with catsup, the 70-foot monument, which sits on top of a 100-foot stand, would hold up to 640,000 standard-size bottles. Instead, it holds 100,000 gallons of water. “Since we were going to have to build the tank, we thought we might as well have it look like something,” said Gerhart Suppinger Jr. of the Brooks Tomato Products Co. when the company decided to erect the bottle.

"Through local preservation efforts, the tower was saved and restored to its original glory in 1995 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. To raise more than $70,000 in restoration funds for sandblasting and painting the bottle and installing lighting, volunteers sold 6,000 shirts and solicited donations from across the country.Each July, the town celebrates the Catsup Bottle Festival, which is a charming example of small-town fun and excitement."

"The World’s Largest Catsup Bottle was built in 1949 as a water tower for the G.S. Suppiger Company’s plant in Collinsville.1 The Catsup Bottle is a 70-foot-tall water tower and is perched on a 100-foot-tall tower.2 The Catsup Bottle features the company Brooks Catsup on the label and is a notable example of roadside Americana from the mid-20th century," the Madison Historical says.

"In 1994, Bethel-Eckert Enterprises, a food distribution company that supplies military commissaries, purchased the Catsup Bottle from Brooks foods,17 and the Catsup Bottle Preservation Group raised $80,000 to repaint and repair the bottle, primarily through t-shirt sales and local donations.

"The Catsup Bottle has become a recognizable feature in the local culture of Collinsville and the Metro East. Every year since 1998, there has been a Words Largest Catsup Bottle Festival to celebrate the landmark.24 It has been the site of proposals and teen pranks.25 Local folklore holds that pregnant women who get too close to the Catsup Bottle will give birth to red heads.26 It has even received national attention. In 2002, The National Register of Historic Places recognized the Catsup Bottle as a National Landmark."

""Ketchup" and "catsup"are simply different spellings for the same thing, a modern, Westernized version of a condiment that originally didn't even have tomatoes, brought back to Europe by traders in the the late 17th century. Europeans loved it, and called it "catchup". Starting in 1711, the sauce was sometimes called "ketchup" in books. Meanwhile, a 1730 Jonathan Swift poem spelled it "catsup", the VroomVroomVroom.com says.

"As you can see from the photograph above, this Big Bottle of Catsup looks really great to be almost 65 years old! That's because the local Catsup Bottle Preservation Group was formed to save it from possible demolition in the 1990s. The preservation group led the efforts to restore the beauty of this unique and original attraction. In 2002, the Collinsville Catsup Bottle was even added to the National Register of Historic Places!

"So thanks to the preservationists and the water tower's owner, you and I can still take our VroomVroomVroom car rental and visit this Big Thing To See. And hundreds, or maybe thousands, of locals drive right by it every day, and many of them are probably reminded that they promised to pick up dinner for their families!"

"In 1949, the tower -- a 70-foot tall catsup bottle atop 100-foot steel legs -- was in place, holding 100,000 gallons of water. By the early 1960s, the plant was closed, the water tower was empty and the plant was used as a warehouse," The State Journal-Register says.

"After years of neglect, the rusted tower seemed destined for demolition. Larry and Jim Eckert purchased the factory site along with the catsup bottle in 1994. A preservation group raised over $100,000 to repair and repaint the structure. By 1995, the restored red, white and blue landmark was unveiled to the public.

"In 2002, the World’s Largest Brooks Catsup Bottle was named to the National Register of Historic Places. And in 2008, it was inducted into the Route 66 Hall of Fame."

"Unfortunately there is no actual ketchup in the 170-foot tall catsup bottle that stands high above the Southern Illinois town, instead the structure serves as a water tower for Collinsville, Illinois — original home of the W.E. Caldwell Company for the G.S. Suppiger who bottled Brooks catsup. The Brooks catsup bottle water tower was completed in 1949," the Silly America says.

"The world’s biggest bottle of ketchup was erected as a way to supply water for plant operations and sprinkler system. Today’s the ketchup bottle water tower is a shining red condiment in the sky that brings locals together, stops travelers in their tracks…and may be the only bottle of ketchup big enough to satisfy my cravings.

"If you ask me, the world’s largest ketchup bottle is a must-see Illinois roadside attraction and an essential stop on your next Illinois road trip, road trip to St. Louis, Route 66 road trip, or drive on the Great River Road."

Photos: (1-8) Facebook/World's Largest Catsup Bottle