AUBURN HILLS, Mich. – The big beer bottle at the old Big Buck Brewery in Auburn Hills -- one of the most recognizable objects dotting the landscape of Metro Detroit -- was removed Wednesday.
For nearly 20 years, drivers on I-75 have seen the big bottle from the highway, but after the brewery closed in 2006, it was only a matter of time until the bottle came down.
Gary Tenaglia is repurposing the Big Buck Brewery into the "Hub" -- the house of urban bowling entertainment venue -- and as part of the deal with Auburn Hills, was required to take down the big bottle.
The bottle is technically a silo that once held the grain for brewing beer. It stands 45 feet high and weighs 20,000 pounds. It's made of steel and an eighth of an inch thick.
Once the crane was hooked up and a pipe was cut, the bottle was hoisted into the air and moved.
A deal was struck to sell the bottle to as it was coming down. The final price is undisclosed, but sources say it's somewhere between $10,000-$15,000.
The bottle will be on display at Powers Beer Distributing in Orion Township, but when you see it, it will have a new label.
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