email: roadarch@outlook.com

Giant Coffee Pots (page 2)

(hit "refresh" to get the most recent version of this page; click on photos for larger images)

The Coffee Pot
Bedford, PA
1932 1930s?
1930s? 1940s?
1943 2002 photos
2003: getting ready for the move
2004: moved, being restored
2010:
The Coffee Pot was built by Bert Koontz in 1927 as a lunch stand. It measures 18 feet in diameter and was originally sheathed in metal. Over the years, it was also used as a Greyhound station and a bar. It became vacant in the mid-1980s and fell into disrepair until it was nearly demolished in 2003. Fortunately, the building was saved and moved across the street to the Bedford Fairgrounds. The restoration cost about $75,000. The exterior was painted silver to simulate the metal panels. [map]

Coffee Pot Water Towers
Kingsburg, CA
The Coffee Pot Water Tower is a replica of a typical looking Swedish coffee pot. The tower is 122 feet tall. The previously ordinary-looking water tower was built in 1911 and given this makeover in 1985. It is lit at night. The last photo shows a smaller coffee pot tower in a traffic circle. It was installed around 2022. For more, see this website. [map]; [map]

Coffee Pot Water Tower
Lindstrom, MN
 Coffee Pot & Coffee Cup Water Towers
Stanton, IA
The Coffee Pot Water Tower in Lindstrom was in use from 1902-1990. [map]

The Coffee Pot Water Tower in Stanton was built in 1921 as a normal looking water tower. In 1971, it was transformed into a coffee pot as a tribute to Virginia Christine who portrayed Mrs. Olson in Folger's Coffee TV commercials. The water tower is 120 feet tall. The coffee pot itself is 35 feet tall. In 2015, the Coffee Pot Water Tower was taken down. The Coffee Pot is now on display just a few feet off the ground at the Swedish Heritage & Cultural Center in Stanton. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2.

Stanton's Coffee Cup Water Tower was built in 2000 and is 96 feet tall. When the Coffee Pot Water Tower ceased functioning, the Coffee Cup Water Tower was built to complement it. The Coffee Cup Water Tower is still in operation. These photos are from 2008. [coffee cup map]

Sapp Bros.
Council Bluffs, IA
 Sapp Bros.
Omaha, NE
 Sapp Bros.
Peru, IL
 Sapp Bros.
Clearfield, PA		 Sapp Bros.
Commerce City, CO
Sapp Bros.
Cheyenne, WY
Sapp Bros. Truck Stops was founded in Omaha, NE in 1971. There are now 16 locations, most of them in the Midwest. These locations feature water towers or signs resembling coffee pots. The water tower in Omaha is 110 foot tall and was installed in 1971. Around 2017, the painted letters were replaced with backlit plastic letters. The Cheyenne location also features storage tanks fashioned as giant coffee pots. The Council Bluffs, Omaha, and Cheyenne coffee pots now have backlit plastic letters. [Council Bluffs map]; [Omaha map]; [Peru map]; [Clearfield map]; [Commerce City map]; [Cheyenne map]

There is another Sapp. Bros. coffee pot water tower in Percival, IA.

More Coffee Pots:
Seward's Cup (Seward, AK) [map]
Goody-Goody (Phoenix, AZ) [gone]
Wilshire Coffee Pot (Los Angeles, CA) [gone]
Sisson's Coffee Pot (Palm Bay, FL) [gone]
Coffee Pot Restaurant (Bremen, IN) [gone]
Coffee Pot & Cup (Davidson, SK; Canada) [map]