7 Up (Seven-Up) Bottling Corporation At 2204 Leeland Ave.

[Guest danax]

I was working under my house this weekend and found this under my old, wooden porch's crawlspace.

This little sucker is thick and heavy. The bottom reads " Property of Seven-Up Bottling Co. Houston, Texas. There are two of the classic 7up logos embossed on the neck but other than that, there's no trace of a paper label nor the old-fashioned painted variety. And brown and so small? I checked on eBay and found an identical one from 7up of Nashville. 7oz.

My porch is close to 100 years old and had some of the original flooring replaced some time long ago. This find could help me date that work, as I found it under the replaced wood. I'm thinking 1940s.

Anyone remember drinking these or the bottling plant? 57Tbird?

[sevfiv]

the seven-up bottling corporation was located at 2204 Leeland Ave, and their number was CA 2-9977

[editor]

I think your 7Up has gone bad. The bottle's turned brown!

[sevfiv]

also, from looking up that address on a9 maps, it appears that kim son is in that location (or across the street)

[citykid09]

that's funny, as I read this I am drinking a nasty bottle of free 7up plus.

[dbigtex56]

The Museum of Beverage Containers and Advertising identifies this picture as One of the Rare Brown 7Up Bottles "A Fresh Up Drink"

I don't see a date listed on that website, and the lettering on this bottle appears to be painted, not a label.

edit: also found this exchange in "Ask Digger":

I have a unique soda bottle. It is a brown 7up bottle. It says for medicinal purposes only. Can you tell me anything about this bottle. Thank you. Marilyn

Shortly after prohibition ended the fledgling 7up company began marketing it's drink as a cure for a hangover. The earliest bottles are squatter and mention in the name "lithiated". the slimmer version began about 1936. Digger.

(I'm getting waaaay too interested in this. )

[Guest danax]

Wow. Great info, dbigtex. Pre-1936 kind of throws my whole dating theory about my porch work out the window but that is very cool. When they started to develop the Pecan Park subdivision in the 1930s, this house was turned around and moved to, what had been, the back side of the parcel, where a new street and houses were going in. So, the bottle would've had to have been placed there after the move, which I had thought was 1939. Ol' Digger seems like quite the bottle expert but that date would conflict with what I was told by someone who was here in 1939, but actually her memory was a little shaky.

And as for it being a cure for a hangover, maybe that would account for my mother telling us kids to drink 7up when we felt naseous. I also remember the motto "You like it, it likes you" and always thought it was a bit weird but as a hangover cure it would work. It's all making sense now.

I have sat in my chair before and pondered the somewhat shoddy work that was done on my porch as mentioned above and actually have wondered why it wasn't done more carefully with regards to measurements and alignment of new wood to old. Now I get it, they were hungover!

[TJones]

Danax ,congrats, you are rich, that bottle is worth tons, at least $5 to $6 on ebay. Honestly, it would probably bring more to a real collector. As far as the shoddy work, you have to figure, it was done 70 years ago also, so i think it has probably held up pretty good, right ?

[Guest danax]

Danax ,congrats, you are rich, that bottle is worth tons, at least $5 to $6 on ebay. Honestly, it would probably bring more to a real collector. As far as the shoddy work, you have to figure, it was done 70 years ago also, so i think it has probably held up pretty good, right ?

$5 or $6? No, way more than that. Here's the only one on ebay currently and it's already $15.50 with a day left!

No, I wouldn't consider selling it as it's part of the architectural artifact collection of the house. I plan on using it as maybe a vase on the porch table.

And yes, the work on the porch has held up all of these years.

[TJones]

$5 or $6? No, way more than that. Here's the only one on ebay currently and it's already $15.50 with a day left!

No, I wouldn't consider selling it as it's part of the architectural artifact collection of the house. I plan on using it as maybe a vase on the porch table.

And yes, the work on the porch has held up all of these years.

That's what I was hoping you'd say, that bottle is part of the house now. Put it up on the mantle, and make it a conversation piece.

[Gary]

This is so cool! Just be careful with it on the porch so it doesn't brake.

[dbigtex56]

That's what I was hoping you'd say, that bottle is part of the house now. Put it up on the mantle, and make it a conversation piece.

Anyone else ever watch If Walls Could Talk on HGTV? For those unfamiliar with the program, homeowners relate the various relics their old houses give up during renovations, and the relationship they have to the people who lived there.

Having grown up in a circa 1870 house, I admit feeling a bit superior to those who don't appreciate that other people have lived interesting lives before we appeared on the scene. Old houses hold secrets.

[TJones]

I guess danax's house's secret is that it was repaired by some drunks ?

[57Tbird]

Anyone remember drinking these or the bottling plant? 57Tbird?

Boy!! You got me on this one! I vaguely remember some brown soft drink bottles from the early-mid 40's, but the only one I'm pretty sure about is a Dad's Old Fashioned Root Beer. BTW...Some of those Ebay bids really skyrocket the last minute or two of bid time. Be interested to see what it goes for. I would hold on to it. I have lots of old stuff that would be worth a lot of money on Ebay, but its sentimental value is worth much more to me.

[2112]

I guess danax's house's secret is that it was repaired by some drunks ?

It was probably on one of those drunken stupors, when they said: "Hey, lets turn the house 180 degrees!"

And they did.

[brucesw]

I think your 7Up has gone bad. The bottle's turned brown!

7Up was originally caramel colored!

http://www.dpsu.com/seven_up.html

Boy!! You got me on this one! I vaguely remember some brown soft drink bottles from the early-mid 40's, but the only one I'm pretty sure about is a Dad's Old Fashioned Root Beer. BTW...Some of those Ebay bids really skyrocket the last minute or two of bid time. Be interested to see what it goes for. I would hold on to it. I have lots of old stuff that would be worth a lot of money on Ebay, but its sentimental value is worth much more to me.

I remember Orange Crush.

Soda pop, as we called it, used to be more fun. A trip to a well-stocked cooler offered so many choices it was like being a kid in Toyland.

It was probably on one of those drunken stupors, when they said: "Hey, lets turn the house 180 degrees!"

And they did.

When I was growing up a neighbor got upset when he discovered his house wasn't square to either of the streets it fronted (a corner lot). So he cut the L-shaped house on cement blocks in 3 pieces and over the course of about 6 months, moved it. Then he realized his driveway was unuseable.

Driveways in LJ on the earliest houses were just 2 strips of concrete and his was at an impossible angle to the garage door. Even with the best of drivers, most driveways had ruts from driver's misjudging them when turning in or backing out.

He wasn't a drinker; a Southern Baptist, he was probably a teetotaler. He was an Electrical Engineer working for Dow, very intelligent but a bit obsessive, obviously.

He later went to work for NASA in Florida.

[TJones]

(pssssst ! hey bruce, ummmmm, Orange Crush is still around and in your local Stop n Rob !) I can't seem to be able to find any Nehi Grape anymore though.

[57Tbird]

I remember Orange Crush.

Right!!

[Ashikaga]

Right!!

I remember Mr. Cola. The signs at stores read: "Drink Mr. Cola. One pint. Serves three".

Today, most soft drinks come in either 20 or 24 ounces or one-liter bottles.

[MarthaG]

Old Soda Bottles and Old Soda Machines... This could be a new topic.

Remember the machines that you would grab the top of the bottle and move it to the slot that would let you pull it out?

Remember the Dr. Pepper "10, 2 & 4"

[TJones]

Old Soda Bottles and Old Soda Machines... This could be a new topic.

Remember the machines that you would grab the top of the bottle and move it to the slot that would let you pull it out?

Remember the Dr. Pepper "10, 2 & 4"

mmmmmmmmmmm............warm Dr.Pepper. YACK ! How could you possibly heat up Dr.Pepper, that is just downright disgusting ! But, Dr.Pepper actually recommended serving it that way.

[Ashikaga]

Old Soda Bottles and Old Soda Machines... This could be a new topic.

Remember the machines that you would grab the top of the bottle and move it to the slot that would let you pull it out?

Remember the Dr. Pepper "10, 2 & 4"

Yes, I do remember those machines. Since the top of the bottles were accessible, some people would take a bottle opener, pop off the tops, stick a straw into the bottle, and drink out the soda. When the machine attendant came to service the machine, he would find empty bottles in addition to an empty coin container.

[gnu]

As a kid, my favorite soda was Frosty Root Beer.

Someone started making it again a few year back. I picked up some but it didnt taste as good as my memory thought it should!

Used to always get Delaware Punch from Church's Chicken too. They had it in clear "vats" on the counter.

Still love the little 6.5oz bottle cokes...something about drinking it out of that bottle makes them tastes great. Wish they weren't so expensive.

And you can get Dr Peppers that are made in Dublin, TX. - in the small bottles and made with pure cane sugar - like they used to be. They taste great too. We always pick some up when we are up there near Waco.

[dbigtex56]

No, I wouldn't consider selling it as it's part of the architectural artifact collection of the house.

So give the next generation who repairs the porch something to ponder - toss an AstroWorld discount Coke can under the porch before you're done reflooring it!

[TJones]

As a kid, my favorite soda was Frosty Root Beer.

Someone started making it again a few year back. I picked up some but it didnt taste as good as my memory thought it should!

Used to always get Delaware Punch from Church's Chicken too. They had it in clear "vats" on the counter.

Still love the little 6.5oz bottle cokes...something about drinking it out of that bottle makes them tastes great. Wish they weren't so expensive.

And you can get Dr Peppers that are made in Dublin, TX. - in the small bottles and made with pure cane sugar - like they used to be. They taste great too. We always pick some up when we are up there near Waco.

Gnu, are you sure you didn't get your Delaware punch from Hartz chicken?

[gnu]

Gnu, are you sure you didn't get your Delaware punch from Hartz chicken?

Positive - I didnt go into a Hartz until I was in High School.

This was the old pre-1980's Church's...in the square buildings with vertical yellow stripes at the roofline.

It would have been in early to mid 70's.

[TJones]

Positive - I didnt go into a Hartz until I was in High School.

This was the old pre-1980's Church's...in the square buildings with vertical yellow stripes at the roofline.

It would have been in early to mid 70's.

Ok, that's just weird to me, because the hartz on 290 and I think Pinemont, always had the same Vats of Delaware punch.I never saw a Church's with them. Good times.

[Guest danax]

So give the next generation who repairs the porch something to ponder - toss an AstroWorld discount Coke can under the porch before you're done reflooring it!

Yes, I will definitely leave something when I get around to repairing some of the original wood which has rotted. I'll probably never go to Astroworld but that is a good suggestion. I'm thinking a 2005 Astros World Series beer or soda bottle, but that would mean I'd have to do the work soon so that the placement wouldn't be date-bogus. If not, I could wait until maybe a Texans Super Bowl bottle, but by then I'm afraid I'd be long gone and my porch would be nothing but termite droppings

And 57Tbird, the bottle sold for $24.50. If it had that cool painted label with the scantilly-clad female blowing bubbles, I read it would be worth $100-$200.

And as for the drunken worker theory, I believe it has merit. My time machine contact who was here from '39 until the 80s said she remembers many an all-night card game in the dining room.

[sevfiv]

So give the next generation who repairs the porch something to ponder - toss an AstroWorld discount Coke can under the porch before you're done reflooring it!

funny thing - several years ago i was around a building that was being remodeled, and a wall had been partly broken down...inside the wall were two cans...one budweiser, and the other this one with a coupon expiration of august 23, 1981

[brucesw]

(pssssst ! hey bruce, ummmmm, Orange Crush is still around and in your local Stop n Rob !) I can't seem to be able to find any Nehi Grape anymore though.

OMG! To think of all I've must have missed out on by not patronizing Stop 'n Rob . Actually, I was responding to 57TBird's remark about brown bottles; those ribbed Orange Crush bottles were cool. I think Crush is available at quite a few places.

Old Soda Bottles and Old Soda Machines... This could be a new topic.

Remember the machines that you would grab the top of the bottle and move it to the slot that would let you pull it out?

Remember the Dr. Pepper "10, 2 & 4"

Those were the coolest machines. My favorite was at Grimes Garage just outside of either La Grange or Columbus, I think. There were several Grimes Garages; the one in Hillsboro is on the National Register of Historic Places.

There must've been 3 or 4 dozen choices in those coolers. Dr. Pepper or RC were always good possibilities because they weren't available everywhere, but I never went for plain old Coke or Pepsi. I'd always look for something I'd never tried before and sometimes when I couldn't make up my mind, I'd splurge and spend 20 cents and get two!