The result of
architectural kitsch, a trend which began in California in the 1920s, these thirty eight foot tall milk bottle shaped buildings were the brainchild of Paul Newport, then owner of Benewah Creamery, originally of St. Maries, Idaho. They were designed by the well known architectural firm of Whitehouse & Price, best known for having designed St. John's Episcopal Cathedral. The intent of the buildings, purely and simply, was to sell milk to kids.
Thirty eight feet tall and fifteen feet in diameter at the base, each also had an addition at the rear for coolers. They were used for many years as retail outlets for the creamery, but by 1985 the buildings were fifty years old and were no longer owned by the creamery. In 1985, the building on Garland Avenue was a second hand shop and the one on South Cedar street was used for storage.
In 2011 the Garland Avenue building was badly damaged by fire, but was rebuilt and reopened as a restaurant, Mary Lou's Milk Bottle. This building, the South Cedar building, is today offices for Mr. Chimney & Masonry, a chimney and masonry service and installation company. In 1986 it was entered in the National Register of Historic Places in recognition of its being of an architectural style unique to the 1920s and 1930s.
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