Huge Heinz ketchup bottle travels from one Pittsburgh icon to another

Two enormous Heinz Tomato Ketchup bottles that poured one out for Steelers victories were displayed on the scoreboard at Heinz Field for more than 20 years.

The motorized sculptures, which had labels and the recognizable white caps, were taken down in 2022 after Heinz (now Kraft Heinz) gave Acrisure the stadium naming rights. Earlier this year, Acrisure Stadium had one bottle replaced. Additionally, the second one found a new home this week at a different facility that bears the name of a Heinz family member.

Currently situated outside the Sen. John Heinz History Center in the Strip District, the 35-foot-long bottle is elevated on a tall pedestal. The museum installed it on Thursday after receiving a donation from Kraft Heinz. Both locals and tourists will undoubtedly use it as a new, Instagram-worthy landmark.

"Due to overwhelming demand, the Heinz History Center decided to bring back the historic Heinz Field ketchup bottle, as it holds significant historical value to Pittsburgh," stated Andy Masich, CEO and president of the History Center.

"We're excited that one of the cherished ketchup bottles from the historic Heinz Field will be housed at Heinz History Center, honoring it as a historical relic," a statement from Kraft Heinz, which shares joint headquarters in Pittsburgh and Chicago, said.

As a young boy in his hometown of Sharpsburg, H.J. Heinz founded the company that would later become the H.J. Heinz Company. The late Sen. Heinz was his great-grandson. It developed into a well-known brand of processed foods worldwide, and its ketchup in particular became synonymous with local pride.

"This place's history is deeply ingrained with the Heinz story," Masich said. "In fact, if someone is from Pittsburgh, some say they bleed ketchup."

"H.J. Heinz was the one who invented and received a patent for that iconic ketchup bottle that we are all familiar with," Masich continued.

On Thursday morning, workers mounted the bottle on a specially made steel pedestal. The bottle's cap is positioned so that it tops out at 57 feet, referencing Heinz's well-known "57 Varieties" tagline.

As of right now, the largest item in the museum's collection is the latest addition. It functions as a kind of bookend as well: The red neon Heinz ketchup sign, which empties and refills every 30 seconds, is suspended high on the opposite side of the Center's red-brick façade. Since 2007, when it was relocated from its original location on the Heinz factory building, which is located just across the Allegheny River, it has been a feature of the Center.