HAZEL PARK, Mich. (WXYZ) — A Hazel Park home built with over 20,000 bottles is up for sale. The house located on West Elza Avenue was built in 1937 and is affectionately known in the community as the "bottle house" and has been catching the eyes of many over the years.
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Carl Schiller, the homeowner, appreciates the historical significance of each bottle.
"What I love the most are these bottles all represent a moment in time," Schiller said.
The Hazel Park bottle house was originally built in 1937 by Omar Reese, who worked at Dodge Main in Hamtramck. Every brick is covered in glass bottles from all over the world including Germany, Scotland and the United States.
Schiller explained why Reese decided to build the way he did.
"There was a timber worker strike in the Upper Peninsula. There was a UAW strike in 1937, so he landed on concrete block as his building material and then got the idea to have light reflecting off glass, which he took a fancy to," Schiller said.
Schiller bought the bottle house in 2021, but behind the bottle-studded exterior, the house needed to be stripped down to its studs.
"It was just sort of a lost child. Maintenance deferred, the roof had leaked, which caused a lot of internal problems," Schiller said.
Since then, the 1,225-square-foot house has been fully renovated and rebuilt with modern finishes like new floors, updated wiring, a redesigned kitchen and bath and an updated bonus room.
All renovations were completed while preserving touches of the original character and charm, especially in the basement.
"It was a labor of love for him and it was a labor of love for us to take it to the next level and to bring it into the next 90 years," Schiller said.
The bottle house is on the market for $350,000 and Schiller hopes the new owners love it as much as he has.
"It's a great story and no one will miss it driving down the street," Schiller said.
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