Sent to you by David via Google Reader:
Similar to the Cathedral of Junk, today's Historical Thursday involves beautiful structures made out of recycled goods. Jump in your kludge-mobile, strap in those duct tape seatbelts and join me on the drive to Simi Valley, CA to visit Tressa 'Grandma' Prisbey's Bottle Village.
Sitting on a 1/3 acre plot at 4595 Cochran Street lies Bottle Village, the most beloved landmark of this town northwest of Los Angeles. Its history dates back to 1956, but its creator lived a fascinating life which started in the 19th century.
Born in 1896 to a poor family in Minnesota, Tressa was married at 15 to her sister's 52-year old widower. By age 30, after giving birth to her 7th child, she left her family and started to head west. In North Dakota she made her living by waiting tables and participating in the local political scene. In Seattle, she worked as a parts assembler at Boeing before heading south and settling down in Simi Valley with her new husband.
Buying a small plot of land on which to park her trailer, Ms. Prisbey wanted to build a wall to block of their neighboring turkey farm. During a trip to the local dump, she found her solution. Glass bottles. Thousands of them. Construction began in 1956, and continued until 1981, when Prisbey moved to San Francisco due to her failing health.
Tressa passed in 1988, but her memory lives on through this remarkable creation. The village is currently under the car of the Preserve Bottle Village Committee, which has been updating and looking after Tress'a masterpiece since 1979 and helped reconstruct it after the 1994 Northridge earthquake.
"Anyone can do anything with a million
dollars—look at Disney. But it takes more
than money to make something out of
nothing, and look at the fun I have doing it."
— Tressa Prisbey
Bottle Village is now a National Landmark. You can find more information or set up a tour through their official website.
Pictures and Information courtesy of: Agility Nut , Atlas Obscura and PBS.
As always, if YOU have an idea for a Historical Thursday, let me know at thereifixedit@gmail.com
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