In 1973, Ontario teacher Hank Deverell built his wife a bottle house for her doll collection; about 25,000 glass bottles and 1,750 hours later, it became a roadside attraction
In 1973, Ontario teacher Hank Deverell and his wife Myrtle built a house from glass bottles in Redditt, a small community in northwestern Ontario, Canada. Myrtle wanted a house to display her growing doll collection, and Hank turned the idea into a bottle-built structure that later became a local tourist attraction.The Redditt Bottle House is located along Highway 658, about 20 minutes north of Kenora. The property was created in the early 1970s and includes the bottle house along with other glass and fantasy-themed structures. The unusual construction has since drawn visitors to the area.According to the Kenora Great War Project, Myrtle was previously married to Orley Edgar Neuert, a former Canadian soldier who served with the 13th Battalion during the First World War. Orley and Myrtle had four children and later lived in Redditt, where Orley worked for the Canadian National Railway as a storekeeper and baggageman.Orley died in 1964. Myrtle later married Hank Deverell, who worked as a teacher at Beaver Brae High School in Kenora. The couple lived in Redditt, and in 1973 they built the bottle house to give Myrtle a place to display her doll collection.
Myrtle wanted a house to display her growing doll collection, and Hank turned the idea into a bottle-built structure that later became a local tourist attraction
The structure was made using thousands of glass bottles held together with mortar. About 25,000 bottles and 1,000 pounds of mortar were used to build the attraction. The Deverells also spent about 1,750 hours on the construction.The bottles became the main feature of the property. Village Life described the house as a structure that uses glass to create patterns of colour and light.The property was not limited to the main house. It also came to include a glass windmill and a structure known as the “House of the Three Bears”. These were designed in the same fantasy style as the bottle house.The bottle house did not remain only a personal project for Myrtle and Hank. It soon began attracting visitors. Village Life reported that about 1,500 people visited when the Bottle House first opened in the summer of 1973. Visitors have since travelled from different parts of Canada and other countries to see the glass structures. The attraction also became part of Redditt’s local identity.
