John J. Makinen Bottle House

The John J. Makinen Bottle House is a residential building in Kaleva constructed entirely with more than 60,000 glass bottles laid horizontally with their bottoms facing outward. The bottles cover the entire exterior walls and create a distinctive pattern of reflective glass surfaces.

Finnish immigrant John J. Makinen Sr. built this house in 1941 using bottles from his own Northwestern Bottling Works Company. The project emerged during a period when reuse and local industry held significance in the community.

The front wall displays an arrangement of clear and brown bottles spelling HAPPY HOME, showing how the builder used materials at hand to express personal meaning. This visible message reflects local resourcefulness and the way ordinary items were transformed into artistic statements.

The house can be visited during the museum season, which typically runs for several months of the year. Visitors should allow time to walk around the exterior and examine the bottle construction details from different angles for a full appreciation.

This is the only residential building in the United States constructed entirely from bottles and recognized by placement on the National Register of Historic Places. This distinction makes it a rare architectural achievement that draws visitors interested in unconventional building methods.