The World’s Largest Catsup Bottle in Collinsville, Illinois, has been sold, but the new owner’s plans for the landmark remain unclear.
The Belleville News-Democrat reported Franklin “Al” Bieri, owner of Mississippi River Construction Co. of O’Fallon, Illinois, announced his purchase of the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle, which actually is a 170-foot-tall water tower painted to resemble a Brooks Catsup bottle.
Bieri himself touted the purchase:
“I’ve got a trivia question for you: Who owns the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle?” Bieri said Thursday. “I do.”
The News-Democrat also reported Bieri was sentenced in 2013 to five months in prison, three months of home confinement and three years of supervised release for improper handling of asbestos.
Bieri purchased the Emerson Electric Facility in Washington Park in order to demolish and salvage the buildings at the site. Knowing that the buildings contained asbestos, Wigginton’s office said, Bieri used untrained workers who failed to use proper removal and disposal procedures.The workers did not wet the asbestos to limit airborne emissions or properly label the waste to alert others to the danger.
Bieri was sentenced for violating the Clean Air Act. In addition to the eight-month sentence, the court also ordered Bieri to pay a fine of $3,000 and a special assessment of $100.
Previous owner Larry Eckert told the newspaper he wasn’t aware of Bieri’s conviction. “He had the money; I sold it to him,” he said. The purchase price wasn’t revealed.
The World’s Largest Catsup Bottle and an adjoining warehouse property went up for sale in mid-2014 for a total of $500,000. Eckert said at the time he was willing to part with the water tower alone for $200,000.
Mike Gassman, the self-proclaimed Big Tomato spokesman for preserving and promoting the landmark, said this in a text message Friday morning:
“We had a great relationship with the previous owner, and we’re looking forward to the same with the new one.”
Gassman also said the new owner loves the landmark and is “super excited to bring that property back to life.”
The World’s Largest Catsup Bottle sits near the site of a former Brooks Catsup factory. The 100,000-gallon water tower was built in 1949.
Brooks eventually moved its operations to Indiana, but the big bottle remained. A local preservation group restored it in 1995, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
The World’s Largest Catsup Bottle sits about two miles south of the nearest alignment of Route 66 at Beltline Road in Collinsville. But it remains a favorite side trip for Route 66 travelers. The site also hosts an annual World’s Largest Catsup Bottle Festival.
(Image of the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle by Lance and Erin via Flickr)