TERRE HAUTE, IN – The Root Family Public Art Project will unveiled 27 Coca-Cola bottles decorated by local artists during a special preview party in Terre Haute on Wednesday (3/22/18). The six-foot fiberglass bottles will be distributed to locations throughout the community as selected by their sponsors for permanent display.

“This will be a great opportunity for the public to see all of the bottles at one time,” said Sally Whitehurst, a volunteer who has been leading the public art project. The preview party will take place from 4 to 6 p.m. in the Mace Building located at 658 Walnut Street in Terre Haute. Admission is $5.

“We announced the project on September 28 of last year, and all of the bottles were sold within hours,” said Whitehurst. “We are so grateful for the tremendous community support this project has received.”

The original contour bottle was designed by the Root Glass Company of Terre Haute in response to a nationwide contest sponsored by the Coca-Cola Company in 1915. In honor of that history, the Root family provided a $10,000 presenting sponsorship for the public art project.

“We are extremely appreciative of the Root family’s support in promoting this unique piece of Terre Haute history,” Whitehurst added.

The project is part of a larger branding effort to have Terre Haute recognized as the birthplace of what has become known as one of the most recognizable product packages in the world, said Teresa Exline, a volunteer leading the overall branding effort.

“We want to make Terre Haute a destination and instill a sense of community pride. This will be an exciting year for our efforts. The community will be dotted with six-foot tall reminders of the Coke bottle’s origin in Terre Haute, a huge mural will be painted on the side of the forthcoming Vigo County History Center at 929 Wabash thanks to Coca-Cola Consolidated, and a Birthplace of the Coca-Cola Bottle Festival will take place in downtown Terre Haute this fall thanks to the Terre Haute Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Terre Haute,” said Exline.

Signage designed by the Coca-Cola Company welcoming visitors to Terre Haute, the birthplace of the Coca-Cola bottle, will also be installed sometime this year, said Susan Tingley, director of development for the Vigo County Historical Society.

Tingley added that current plans, if fundraising efforts are successful, call for the new History Center building to be renovated by the end of the year. The center will house an exhibit telling the story about the Root Glass Company and the creation of the contour bottle, along with a historic bottling line display and a working soda fountain where Coca-Cola products and memorabilia will be sold.

Tingley worked with Arts Illiana to line up artists to paint the bottles for the Root Family Public Art Project and curate their designs.

The sponsors and the artists who have decorated their bottles are:

Arc of Terre Haute, Artist: Jim Shepard

Baesler’s Market, Artist: Jim Shepard

CAVU, Artist: Becky Hochhalter

CANDLES Museum, Artist: Jackie Tice

CDI, Artist: Jackie Tice City of Terre Haute, Artists: Susan and Michael Tingley

The Corner Grind/ELB, Inc., Artist: Becky Hochhalter

Corporate Square, Artists: Valerie Funk and John Criss

First Financial Bank, Artist: Becky Hochhalter

Gary Greiner, Artist: Jim Shepard

Indiana State University, Artist: Courtney

Prather JGS, Artist: Edward and Sarah Trover

Ivy Tech Community College, Artist: David Gill Morgan

Stanley Wealth Management, Artist: Becky Hochhalter

Root Family, Artist: Neil Garrison

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology, Artist: Bryan Bromstrup

Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College, Artists: Jody O’Neil, Jordyn Lloyd, Bry’Chell Johnson and Bria Hill

Scott’s Custom Colors, Artist: Jim Shepard

Sycamore Engineering, Artist: Bryan Bromstrup

Sycamore Storage, Artist: Cathleen Hogan

TBM Building Services, Artist: Troy Fears

Terre Haute Chamber/Economic Development Corporation/Work One, Artist: Mary Ann Michna

Terre Haute Convention and Visitors Bureau: Jackie Tice

Terre Haute Regional Airport, Artist: Jody O’Neil

Terre Haute Tribune-Star. Artist: JoAnne Fiscus and Barbara Dreher

Wilbert Vault & Custom Stone Products, Artist: Larry Jones

Steve Williams, Artist: Bill Wolfe

The Birthplace of the Coca-Cola Bottle is a sponsored program of the Wabash Valley Community Foundation.