The site of an iconic Auburn structure, The Bottle, will receive a historic marker dedication from the Auburn Heritage Association to celebrate its status as a piece of Auburn history.
The event will take place at The Bottle’s original location at the corner of North College Street and US Highway 280 on Saturday, April 25, at 2:30 p.m.
The Bottle was originally built in 1924 by John Williams of the Nehi Bottling Company in Opelika, according to AHA’s spring 2015 newsletter. The bright orange Nehi bottle was made out of wood and stood 64 feet tall and 49 feet in diameter. Also known as the Twist Inn, The Bottle was as functional as it was eye-catching; the ground floor was a grocery store and a service station, while the second and third floors were living quarters. An interior spiral staircase led up to a balcony where parties were held, and people were able to spin their yarns. President Franklin D. Roosevelt once visited The Bottle on a trip to Auburn.
Although it burned down in the fall of 1936, The Bottle has stayed on Alabama Highway maps, according to Mary Norman, president of AHA.
Norman said the AHA Board has considered dedicating a marker to The Bottle for some time, but did not vote on it until October 2014.
“Many of the local people in town have known about The Bottle for years,” Norman said. “It was such a distinctively large wooden structure when built and was out of its element as a very memorable place.”
Norman said her family has lived here since 1835, and that she loved the history of Auburn.
“My grandparents and my great-grandparents lived here when The Bottle was built,” Norman said. “I heard stories from my grandmother about The Bottle. It's an Auburn icon.”
Family members of John Williams will be at the dedication, as well as Auburn Mayor Bill Ham, who will accept the marker for the city. There will be an 8-foot replica of the picture of The Bottle, and AHA will give out commemorative Nehi bottles to the first 50 people to attend.
“We hope to have a good turnout at the event,” Norman said. “It has been amazing to me, the interest in this project we have had.”
AHA has been working with Auburn University for the past three years to place historic markers on campus, and are working to place nine more markers for nine campus buildings located in Auburn’s Historic District that were placed on the National Register in 1978, according to Norman.
The next historic marker the AHA plans to dedicate will be to the Farmville Community Club/Botsford School, which is the oldest freestanding school in Lee County. A day of dedication for that event has not yet been set.
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