In an earlier post, I mentioned that there is a giant catsup bottle in Collinsville, IL, actually the world's largest catsup bottle to be exact! Can you believe that there is a Catsup Bottle Fan Club website at http://www.catsupbottle.com/. The Brooks Catsup company was located in Collinsville, IL for years, but the 170 foot catsup tower was facing demolition until it was saved and restored in 1995. In fact, it is the only 'catsup bottle' to be placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The landmark water tower was designated on the NRHP in 2002. In 2006 the water tower site was the host of the "world's largest catsup package" event (this event was co-sponsored by Heinz).
The people of Collinsville, IL take their catsup landmark very seriously. I had the pleasure to see the water tower in person in September of 2007. Collinsville, IL also hosted an Italian festival that weekend and I saw numerous articles of clothing and other memorabilia showing off the local icon. If anyone reading this and wants to witness the catsup tower for themselves it is located on US Route 159. This attraction is also recommended by roadside attraction websites so the next time you are in St. Louis, drive over to Collinsville, IL and check it out.
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