Kaleva in Manistee County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)

The Bottle House

Photographed by Lugnuts, July 17, 2020

1. The Bottle House Marker

Inscription. John J. Makinen, Sr., (1871-1942) Built this house out of over 60,000 pop bottles, most of which came from his business, the Northwestern Bottling Works. The bottles were laid on their sides with the bottom ends to the exterior. A native of Finland, Makinen moved to the area in 1903. He completed the house in 1941 but died before his family moved into it. In 1980, the building was purchased by the Kaleva Historical Society, which renovated it to house the Kaleva Historical Museum.

Erected 1983 by Michigan History Division, Department of State. (Marker Number 983.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Architecture. In addition, it is included in the Michigan Historical Commission series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1941.

Location. 44° 22.397′ N, 86° 0.558′ W. Marker is in Kaleva, Michigan, in Manistee County. It is at the intersection of Wuoksi Avenue and Kaukao Street, on the right when traveling east on Wuoksi Avenue. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 14551 Wuoksi Ave, Kaleva MI 49645, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Northern Michigan Lower Peninsula

and in one of the Lake Michigan Shore counties. It is also in the American Midwest

and on the Great Lakes.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Northwest Territory.

Other nearby markers. At least 6 other markers are within 14 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: War Memorial (approx. 9.8 miles away); The Portage Lake Region (approx. 9.8 miles away); Paul P. Harris (approx. 9.9 miles away); Thompsonville Junction / Village of Thompsonville (approx. 10.7 miles away); Harriet Quimby / Childhood Home

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(approx. 11.2 miles away); Joyfield Cemetery (approx. 13.2 miles away).

Also see . . . The Bottle House Museum. Kaleva Historical Society website entry (Submitted on August 4, 2020.)

The Makinen Bottle House image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Lugnuts, July 17, 2020

2. The Makinen Bottle House

Photographed by Lugnuts, July 17, 2020

3. The Bottle House Marker

Typical Bottles Used In The Structure image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Lugnuts, July 17, 2020

4. Typical Bottles Used In The Structure

Typical Bottle Detail image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Lugnuts, July 17, 2020

5. Typical Bottle Detail

Credits. This page was last revised on July 22, 2022. It was originally submitted on August 4, 2020, by Lugnuts of Germantown, Wisconsin. This page has been viewed 434 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on August 4, 2020, by Lugnuts of Germantown, Wisconsin. • Mark Hilton was the editor who published this page.