Renault Wine
Atlantic City, NJ
Photo courtesy Bob Jagendorf

There was an advertising company in NJ that made these large bottles as 3d billboards. There are still many around the state. This one advertising Renault Wine is in southern NJ near Atlantic City at a winery. Many thanks to Bob Jagendorf for info.

Now this is one way to advertise a winery. A giant Renault Wine bottle stands beside the highway near Atlantic City, looking like somebody left a very large order along the roadside.

Renault Winery reportedly placed dozens of these concrete and plaster bottles along highways beginning during Prohibition. Some stood about 24 feet tall, turning the winery’s name into a three-dimensional billboard that was nearly impossible to miss. Only a small number of the original bottles are believed to survive around South Jersey. Renault Winery itself remains open in Egg Harbor City.

UPDATE: Several Renault advertising bottles survive in varying condition, with some repainted or reused for other businesses. 08-26

The Bayville Champagne Bottle (Rem.)
Bayville, NJ
Photo courtesy Paul Bauke

The champagne bottle used to be located at the Renault Winery. This bottle was bought by a propane gas supplier. As the bottle says they sell, "the champagne of propane". This one is located on US Route 9 in Bayville. Many thanks to Paul Bauke for info. 07-05

Now here is a clever way to reuse an old roadside giant. This champagne bottle once advertised Renault Winery, but a Bayville propane dealer turned it into the “Champagne of Propane.” The 24-foot bottle stands along Route 9, dressed up to resemble a bottle of Dom Pérignon. 07-05

The bottle dates back to Renault Winery’s old highway advertising campaign. It is hollow, with a wooden frame covered by chicken wire, cement and stucco. Before the propane days, it also spent some time advertising a nearby IGA supermarket.

When Sam Russo bought the property in 1984, he considered tearing the bottle down. Fortunately, the weather delayed the job and he decided to keep it. That turned out to be a good call, since it is now one of only a few surviving Renault bottles in New Jersey.

UPDATE: The bottle remains standing at Route 9 and Korman Road, although the “Champagne of Propane” lettering has been painted over. The property now operates as Ace Outdoor Power Equipment. 08-26

Hood Milk Bottle
Boston, MA
Photo by RoadsidePeek.com

Here is one bottle that really stands out along the Boston waterfront. The Hood Milk Bottle rises 40 feet beside the Children’s Museum, complete with the familiar red Hood lettering and an ice cream window near the bottom. If it were a real bottle, it could hold 58,620 gallons of milk. 02-08

Arthur Gagner built the wooden bottle in 1933 to attract motorists to his homemade ice cream stand along Route 44 in Taunton. The Sankey family took over in 1943 and kept the scoops coming for another 24 years. After the stand closed, the weathered bottle even caught the eye of famous photographer Walker Evans, who photographed it in 1974.

Clothing designer Carol Scofield rescued the bottle for $2,500. An early plan would have placed it at Boston City Hall Plaza, but that idea was rejected as being a little too undignified for City Hall. The Children’s Museum happily took it instead. Workers removed 14 coats of old paint before the 15,000-pound bottle sailed across Boston Harbor on a barge, escorted by fireboats, on April 20, 1977.

The bottle was cut in half, rebuilt and moved to slightly higher ground during the museum’s 2007 renovation. Over the years it has served Hood, Au Bon Pain, Sullivan’s and other vendors, but ice cream eventually returned to the menu.

UPDATE: The Hood Milk Bottle remains beside the Boston Children’s Museum and continues to operate as a seasonal concession stand. 08-26

Weights
Lancaster, PA
Photo courtesy Bob Jagendorf

There is a water well that you can fill up gallon bottles with great cold water for a quarter. There is a sign saying that a famous strongman used to drink this water and that is why he could lift these heavy weights. Many thanks to Bob Jagendorf for info.

Need a little extra strength for the road? This Weights display near Lancaster advertised a roadside well where motorists could fill gallon bottles with cold water for 25 cents.

According to the sign, a famous strongman drank from the well, which supposedly explained his ability to lift those enormous weights. Now that is some powerful water.

UPDATE: The current status of the well and strongman display is unknown. 08-26

Bud the Bayville Dinosaur
Bayville, NJ
Photo courtesy Paul Bauke

Right down Route 9 from the giant champagne bottle stands the Bud the Bayville Dinosaur, a 20-foot-long concrete dinosaur that has been turning motorists’ heads since the early 1930s. During this visit, the old creature was still advertising a Bayville furniture shop. 07-05

The dinosaur reportedly came from a Sinclair station in Howell and was moved here to advertise Will Farrow’s taxidermy shop. Later businesses kept it as their own roadside billboard. A 1979 radio contest named it “Ruggles,” although most locals simply called it Dino.

Cars and trucks have knocked off its head several times. It has also appeared in white, purple, green and powder blue, once decorated with children’s handprints. Through every repair and repainting, directions along Route 9 remained the same: look for the dinosaur.

UPDATE: A community preservation effort restored Bud the Bayville Dinosaur after another collision in 2015. It remains standing beside Route 9. 08-26

Spring Goose
Shillington, PA
Photo courtesy Carl Schuetrumpf

Now here is one goose that was not going to be overlooked. The Spring Goose towers over the yard with its long neck, bright orange bill and a pair of oversized webbed feet. It looks a little like one of those concrete porch geese after a very serious growth spurt.

The giant bird stood on the former Spring Goose Farm property in Spring Township, not far from Sinking Spring. That appears to explain the name, although older roadside listings identified the location as Shillington. With the boroughs and township lines packed closely together around this part of Berks County, the goose seems to have acquired a few different hometowns over the years.

UPDATE: The former Spring Goose Farm property has largely been subdivided for residential development. The present whereabouts of the giant goose could not be confirmed. 08-26