The Benewah Milk Bottle is a landmark in
Spokane, Washington
Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south o ...
. Listed in the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
, there are two constructed
milk bottle
From the second half of the 19th century, milk has been packaged and delivered in Reusable packaging, reusable and returnable glass bottles. They are used mainly for doorstep delivery of fresh milk by milkman, milkmen. Once customers have f ...
-shaped buildings in the Spokane area, which accompanied a successful dairy operation's stores. One of the buildings is located on South Cedar Street in
Downtown Spokane
Downtown Spokane or Riverside is the central business district of Spokane, Washington. The Riverside neighborhood is roughly bounded by I-90 to the south, Division Street to the east, Monroe Street to the west and Boone Avenue to the north. The ...
, while the other is located two miles north in the Garland Historical District of
North Hill.
On the morning of September 26, 2011, the Garland Historical District Milk Bottle restaurant, owned by Mary Lou Ritchie, and the historical Ferguson's Café, located next door, were heavily damaged in a fire. Fire investigators believe the fire started in a walkway between the two restaurants.
[ ]
History
The bottle was completed in 1935 and is a classic example of literalism in advertising. The bottle is
stucco
Stucco or render is a construction material made of aggregates, a binder, and water. Stucco is applied wet and hardens to a very dense solid. It is used as a decorative coating for walls and ceilings, exterior walls, and as a sculptural and ...
ed from its base to where it begins to taper to the bottle's neck. The neck and cap are sheet metal over a wooden frame. The entire bottle had an original white paint. It was Paul E. Newport who built the milk bottles. Newport owned the thriving Benewah Dairy Company. Company ads stated the bottles were "designed to build better men and women by making dairy products attractive to boys and girls. No expense will be spared to make these new stores as sturdy as fine, and as good as the products they represent."
The milk bottle was photographed by
John Margolies
John Samuel Margolies (May 16, 1940 – May 26, 2016) was an architectural critic, photographer, and author who was noted for celebrating vernacular and novelty architecture in the United States, particularly those designed as roadside attracti ...
who captured images of roadside attractions around the United States.
See also
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Hood Milk Bottle
Boston Children's Museum is a children's museum in Boston, Massachusetts, dedicated to the education of children. Located on Children's Wharf along the Fort Point Channel, Boston Children's Museum is the second oldest children's museum in the U ...
*
Guaranteed Pure Milk bottle
*
Milk Bottle Grocery
The Milk Bottle Grocery, located at 2426 N. Classen Boulevard in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a grocery building with a large metal Braum's milk bottle atop its roof. The store was constructed in 1930, and the milk bottle was added in ca. 1948. T ...
Notes
External links
“Roadside Attractions”, a National Park Service Teaching with Historic Places (TwHP) lesson planWaymarking.com Photo & Information
{{National Register of Historic Places Washington
Novelty buildings in Washington (state)
National Register of Historic Places in Spokane, Washington
Commercial buildings completed in 1935
Buildings and structures in Spokane, Washington
Roadside attractions in Washington (state)
Tourist attractions in Spokane, Washington
Commercial buildings in Washington (state)
Burned buildings and structures in the United States
Commercial buildings on the National Register of Historic Places in Washington (state)
Bottles
Milk in culture
1935 establishments in Washington (state)