Pictorial

The first bottle house was built in 1980. Its six gables and the patterns produced by the careful choosing of colors and sizes of bottles truly makes this a unique building.

Mr. Arsenault would cement between 300 and 400 bottles per row, using a total of approximately 85 bags of cement over a six month period.

Unfortunately, Prince Edward Island winters are not very gentle. The railway ties used as foundations by Édouard did not withstand the effects of the bad winter frosts. Over the years, the building deteriorated to the point that it had to be re-built in 1995.

Local bricklayers carefully re-constructed the building, using the same 12,000 bottles as in the original structure and following the same basic design.

Mr. Arsenault built the stonework and developed the flower gardens surrounding the buildings at the beginning of his retirement years in 1974.

In 1982, Édouard Arsenault decided to try his luck at a second building, using approximately 8,000 bottles this time. This tavern-like structure was originally used to house the attraction's souvenirs and handcraft items.

This building was re-built in 1993, as the severe winter conditions had brought its toll on this house as well. The roof and the central cylinder however were maintained.

Édouard was a keen gardener; he had planted all the trees on the property and enjoyed growing a wide variety of perennials and annuals, a task that the present owner, his own daughter, also enjoys doing from year to year.

This work of art is the third building constructed by the late Édouard Arsenault. Approximately 10,000 bottles were used in 1983 to erect this little chapel, complete with its pews and altar.

At the time of his sudden death at the age of 70, in the spring of 1984, Mr. Arsenault still had a bit of work to do: he intended to make the steeples higher and the front pew was not quite completed.

At sunset, a symphony of light and colors streams in from behind the altar. Visitors are likely to sense a feeling of peace and tranquillity as they admire the final chapter of Arsenault's work.