Heinz Ketchup bottle from Acrisure Stadium finds new home at History Center

The second of two Heinz ketchup bottles removed from Acrisure Stadium last July can now be found at the Senator John Heinz History Center in the Strip District.

The 35-foot ketchup bottle stopped traffic on Thursday morning. As it came down the southwest corner at 12th and Smallman Streets, trailing behind it was the steel pedestal.

History Center president and CEO Andrew Masich said this is a very exciting day for the History Center and for Pittsburgh.

“What better place for the Heinz Field red zone ketchup bottle than here at Heinz History Center?” he said.

Masich said the 57-foot structure will provide a wonderful photo opportunity for people visiting the History Center. Those who post their photos with the bottle and tag the History Center will be entered to win a Heinz swag bag, and a “Friends & Family” membership to the History Center. The winners will be announced through the end of January.

Visitors can officially see the bottle starting Dec. 22.

For Elliott Traeger, who was visiting Pittsburgh for the first time from Chicago, this was his first Pittsburgh experience. He stopped while on his way to the Andy Warhol Museum.

“It’s pretty cool to see the Heinz bottle go up. We’ve only driven through Pittsburgh, so watching this was a great moment,” Traeger said.

According to Masich, visitors can start their visit here and figure out why Pittsburghers are the way they are. The ketchup bottle and The Heinz exhibit at The History Center explain part of the story, Masich said, as does the sports museum. Right next to the ketchup bottle on the front of the building are the original goalposts from Three Rivers Stadium.

“This is a place where Pittsburghers connect with their heritage,” Masich said. “The Pittsburgh identity lives here.”

Preparing for the mounting of the ketchup bottle was a long process, according to Masich. After being outdoors at Heinz Field from 2001-2022, the fiberglass structure started to deteriorate. An extensive restoration process was required, and the museum had to be sure that the steel was strong enough to mount it.

All costs associated with the restoration and installation were covered by donations and a sponsorship with The Kraft-Heinz Company, Masich said.

The installation, which will be a day-long project, began at 7 a.m. when the ketchup bottle arrived. The bottle weighs 7,000 pounds and the base is 9.5 feet wide. Approximately 13,000 gallons of Heinz ketchup would fit inside this bottle, according to the History Center. Once the bottle is mounted on the steel pedestal, it will stand at more than 55 feet tall.

Megan Fisher and Rachel Mazzetti were on a coffee run Thursday morning and decided to get a glimpse of the ketchup bottle.

“It’s a nice addition to the museum, a part of history, and it just makes sense,” Fisher said. “It’s a joy to witness history being made. It’s just something you don’t see every day.”

Smallman Street’s eastbound lane will be closed to traffic until noon, according to the History Center.

The other bottle returned to Acrisure Stadium in April. It hangs above the Heinz Gate, also known as Gate C.