Michigan Historic Homes: Kaleva Bottle House Museum
This home was built by John J. Makinen, Sr. using over 60,000 bottles laid on their sides with the bottoms toward the exterior. Most of the bottles were from his own company, The Northwestern Bottling Works. The house was completed in 1941 but sadly Mr. Makinen passed away before he could move in. The house was purchased by the Kaleva Historical Museum in 1981 and is listed on the National and Michigan Register of Historical Sites. The museum includes items relating to lumbering, farming, homemaking, office machines, railroad, local area schools and so much more. Please call the Kaleva Historical Society at 231-362-3519 for tour information.
You can see more photos of the Kaleva Bottle House on Flickr and in Julie Quinn’s Kaleva Bottle House Gallery. Read more at Roadside America’s Kaleva, Michigan Bottle House entry and other bottle houses from agilitynut.com!
The Manistee Chamber of Commerce has a complete list of historic homes and buildings to see in the Manistee area.
More Michigan Historic Homes on Absolute Michigan.