Glass bottle buildings bring tourists to Manitoba community

The glass bottle buildings in a Manitoba town CTV's Jamie Dowsett heads to Treherne for an up-close look at the famous glass bottle buildings

In the 1980s, a Manitoba coupled named Bob and Dora Cain converted thousands of glass bottles into structures that currently stand in Treherne, Man.

Now, decades later and after their deaths, the creations continue to bring tourists to the community.

“The glass bottles are in Treherne because of a couple who were inspired by a project in Ontario,” said Alison Delf-Timmerman, president of the Norfolk Treherne Community Development Corporation.

“After [Bob and Dora] had spent a lot of time of building it on their farm, they had a lot of visitors to see them, so after they passed the family decided to donate it to the community.”

The structures include a house, a church and a well, which were built in the 1980s. The church and house are made out of thousands of bottles, while the well is constructed out of 500.

The Cains took a week and half to build the well, with the church and house taking a few months each.

“I think everybody in the community probably has a bottle that they probably donated at some point,” said Delf-Timmerman.

The couple also built a glass bottle washroom to avoid having all the visitors come into their home.

“It’s made out of 1,000 bottles and it’s fully functional thanks to their son, who is a plumber,” said tour guide Nyssim Gervais.

The glass structures can be found at Railway Avenue and Alexander Street in Treherne.

“For us, it’s an opportunity for people to come into our town and see it,” Delf-Timmerman said.

- With files from CTV’s Jamie Dowsett.