***Updated: World’s Largest Catsup Bottle owner Larry Eckert contacted the Metro Independent to say he has had “a change of heart.” The warehouse and water tower are no longer offered for sale separately, they will be sold together***
Imaging going to Paris and finding the Eiffel Tower for sale, or strolling past the parliament building in London to find a for sale sign in front of Big Ben – look kids, Big Ben…for sale?
The World’s Largest Catsup Bottle for sale / Photo by Roger Starkey
Visitors to Collinsville don’t have to imagine such a scenario, the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle is on the market. Bethel-Eckert Enterprises Inc., owners of the warehouse below the 170-foot water tower, and the tower itself, are attempting to sale the icon voted as one of Time Magazine’s top 50 American roadside attractions in 2010.
Some lucky investor can buy the World’s Largest Catsup Bottle and the warehouse beneath it for $500,000, Larry Eckert, co-owner of Bethel-Eckert, said.
The factory below the bottle has not been in use since April 2013, when a contract to warehouse food for the government was awarded to a different company. Since then, the company has gone out of the warehousing business and are trying to rebuild as a trucking company, using their existing equipment, Eckert said.
The company has been working to sell the building and bottle for some time. They thought they had a deal arranged recently, but it fell through, which is when the company decided to go public with the sale, Eckert said.
Many may be surprised that the City of Collinsville does not own an iconic symbol of the town. Bethel-Eckert attempted to donate the tower in 1995, when the company bought the property for the warehouse, Eckert said. The City was not interested in the gift, and Eckert isn’t interested in offering it for free again.
The city council, mayor and city manager at the time decided the cost of repairing and maintaining the bottle was not in the city’s best interest. A repaired bottle, new mayor, new city manager and new city council may have changed that mindset.
If Eckert would reconsider donating the bottle, the city may reconsider refusing it, Mayor John Miller said.
“We certainly recognize the importance of the Catsup Bottle to the city,” Miller said. “I’d hate to see anything happen to it.”
Before Eckert changed his mind and decided not to offer the bottle and warehouse separately, City Manager Scott Williams said he is not sure if the City Council would be receptive to purchasing the portion of the property on which the bottle sits, nor has he discussed it with them. Because the property at 800 S. Morrison is not in a Tax Increment Finance District or a Business District, the city does not have much financial flexibility.
The City’s lack of financial flexibility and the cost of a building with portions that date back to the late 1800s or early 1900s, which would likely provide little use to the City, could mean that the best way to preserve the bottle is to help Eckert sell it to another buyer.
“The City is interested in doing what we can to make sure the Catsup Bottle stays here for a long time,” Williams said. “That may be helping market it or something else, but we want to do what we can to help.”
The new owners will have to work hard to be as dedicated to the Catsup Bottle as Bethel-Eckert. The company donated $13,000 to the $77,440 project that rehabilitated the tower, originally constructed in 1949. The tower renovations were completed in 1995, since then, the electricity for the flood lights that shine on the bottle each night is still paid for by Bethel-Eckert.
Although the sign near the Catsup Bottle announcing the sale of the building and bottle was just recently erected, the property has been on the market for more than a year. The City has been working with Eckert to identify a buyer, Economic Development Director Erika Kennett said.
“We have had some interest from a retailer, but we’ve not been able to provide the incentives they want,” Kennett said.
The Big Tomato, Mike Gassmann, President and CEO of the non-profit World’s Largest Catsup Bottle Inc., said his relationship with Bethel-Eckert has been great.
“We could not have asked for anything better,” Gassmann said.
