Michigan's 60,000-bottle house built in 1941 is now a museum

What began as a practical way to make use of unwanted glass bottles eventually became one of Michigan's most unusual historic buildings. In 1941, Kaleva businessman John Makinen built a house using about 60,000 glass bottles that had been chipped or otherwise deemed unsuitable at his local pop bottling factory. According to the Kaleva Historical Society, Makinen arranged the bottles in different colours and patterns, turning what might otherwise have been factory waste into a distinctive home. More than four decades later, in 1983, the Kaleva Historical Society purchased the property with help from community fundraising and turned it into the home of its museum.A house made from unwanted bottlesThe Bottle House stands in the small Michigan community of Kaleva, where its unusual exterior remains difficult to miss. Makinen owned the local pop bottling factory, and the bottles used in the house came from his own business.