World's Largest Catsup Bottle

About Me

I'm the World's Largest Catsup Bottle in Collinsville, Illinois. I'm proud to be one of the most looked up to roadside attractions in the country! I even have my own official website and fan club at World'sLargestCatsupBottle.com .

I 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 . In 1995, due to the efforts of the Catsup Bottle Preservation Group, I was saved from demolition and beautifully restored to my original appearance, turning me into a landmark roadside tourist attraction.

People recognize me the world over as an excellent example of mid 20th century commercial architecture and roadside Americana. In August of 2002 I was truly honored to be named to the National Register of Historic Places.

My Interests

Road trips, other roadside attractions, and all the "World's Largest Things" to be found.

I'd like to meet:

Something that is really fun is my annual Birthday Party. We call it the World's Largest Catsup Bottle Summerfest Birthday Party and Car Show Bash! The big event will be Saturday & Sunday, July 12 & 13, 2008! Mark your calendar to make a weekend of it!!!!

Music:

Catsup Bottle Summerfest Birthday Party & Car Show Bash!

Movies:

This DVD is available online from PBS and Amazon. It is part one of what we call the "Catsup Bottle Triligy." It was filmed at Summerfest in 2003 by Rick Sebak and WQED Multimedia in Pittsburgh. Episode II was filmed in 2004 by Tom Zapiecki of WBGU in Bowling Green, Ohio. Entitled "Ketchup - King of Condiments," it won a regional Emmy Award. And Episode III of the Triligy (which really has nothing to do with the others) is "Taste of America with Mark DeCarlo" which was filmed in 2005 and appears on the Travel Channel.

Heroes:

My heroes are the members of the original Catsup Bottle Preservation Group. They literally saved my life!

Just for the record... I am NOT affiliated with the City of Collinsville, the Collinsville Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Collinsville, Inc. Main Street Program, or the Collinsville Visitor's Bureau.

Each and every one of these organizations has at some point screwed me over! And for that they can kiss my rust!

My Blog

2008 Summerfest Birthday Party is on!!

Wooohoooo! The 2008 Catsup Bottle Summerfest Birthday Party is a "GO"...!!!! More details will be forthcoming, but for now, just mark the dates of July 12 & 13, 2008, as my big Birthday Bash. It will...
Posted by World's Largest Catsup Bottle on Fri, 09 Nov 2007 06:23:00 PST

I got a call from the "Ellen Degeneres Show"...!!!!

Yesterday, Big Tomato Mike got a call from the producers of the Ellen Degeneres Show wanting some good photos of me to use in a feature story they're doing for the Ellen Degeneres Show web site. It's ...
Posted by World's Largest Catsup Bottle on Fri, 09 Nov 2007 06:17:00 PST

2007 Summerfest Birthday Party

As I'm sure everyone is aware of the fact that a contract dispute with the City of Collinsville caused the cancellation of my big birthday bash on Main Street this year. It was very unfortunate.But fe...
Posted by World's Largest Catsup Bottle on Fri, 03 Aug 2007 07:21:00 PST

Had a great time at the Car Show

Hope everyone had a great time at my car show Saturday! I know the folks at Son Life Church and everyone doing the World's Largest Ketchup Packet event sure did!!! It was all over the news all over th...
Posted by World's Largest Catsup Bottle on Tue, 31 Jul 2007 02:24:00 PST

Arson Fire Won't Stop Car Show & Festival!!!!

Yesterday morning a fire completely gutted a section of the campus of the old Collinsville High School, which is today Collinsville Christian Academy and Son Life Church. The 70 yr old Industrial Arts...
Posted by World's Largest Catsup Bottle on Tue, 24 Jul 2007 07:30:00 PST

Catsup Bottle - C.I.A. Car Show July 28, 2007

Art Cars, Kustom Kars, Classic Cars, Trucks, Bikes ... even Boats! Join us coming up on Saturday, July 28, 2007 is the C.I.A. Car Truck & Bike Show to benefit the World's Largest Catsup Bottle Fan Clu...
Posted by World's Largest Catsup Bottle on Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:29:00 PST

Summerfest Birthday Bash CANCELED!

It's over. The 2007 World's Largest Catsup Bottle Summerfest Birthday Party & Car Show Bash has been cancelled. It's a lurid tale of greed, money, power, & politics. And unfortunately it's the communi...
Posted by World's Largest Catsup Bottle on Tue, 29 May 2007 08:04:00 PST

It just shouldn't be this hard.

NEWS UPDATE - MONDAY, MARCH 12, 2007"There's a glitch in Summerfest." That's what we heard when we received a call from the City of Collinsville's new Downtown Coordinator, Melissa Leavy. After gett...
Posted by World's Largest Catsup Bottle on Mon, 12 Mar 2007 11:16:00 PST

Please VOTE for me!

Hey everyone! I'm in the running for the "Seven Wonders of Illinois" promotion from the Illinois Bureau of Tourism! Vote for me at www.enjoyillinois.com today! You can vote once every day... so vote e...
Posted by World's Largest Catsup Bottle on Mon, 05 Mar 2007 07:33:00 PST