Pittsburgh squeezes Heinz History Center to get giant ketchup bottle permit
Pittsburgh’s iconic giant ketchup bottle is too big.
At least that’s what the city has told the Heinz History Center.
One of two oversized Heinz ketchup bottles removed from Acrisure Stadium last summer after it changed names from Heinz Field was installed outside the Strip District museum in December. The 35-foot bottle was placed on a platform that brought its total height to more than 52 feet.
That’s about a dozen feet too high, according to the city’s zoning code, which caps ground signs in the Golden Triangle zoning district at 40 feet high.
The history center, at 1212 Smallman St., sits just inside the district.
But ketchup lovers, fear not. The museum is working with the city to grant it an exception so the bottle can stay on its perch.
Andy Masich, president and CEO of the history center, said city zoning officials notified the museum shortly after the ketchup bottle was installed on Dec 21, 2023, that a permit was needed.
Masich said the history center must appear before the city’s zoning board to request a variance so the bottle can stay on the museum’s southwest corner.
Museum officials were initially confused because they had never needed a variance to install other historic artifacts outdoors, such as the goal posts from Three Rivers Stadium, which were put up in 2004 without a problem.
They stand just a few steps from the ketchup bottle.
But Maria Montaño, a spokeswoman for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey, said the city’s zoning department said the bottle falls under a category of non-advertising ground signs, which require a variance if taller than 40 feet.
Montaño said the history center submitted a zoning variance request, which is moving through the city’s standard process.
A hearing before the zoning board is scheduled for May 9.
Masich said he’s looking forward to a decision.
“There was some confusion early in the process with mounting an historic artifact on our property, but we’re now working closely with the zoning board and the city to move forward,” he said.
The other giant Heinz ketchup bottle is on display at Acrisure Stadium at Gate C.
Ryan Deto is a TribLive reporter covering politics, Pittsburgh and Allegheny County news. A native of California’s Bay Area, he joined the Trib in 2022 after spending more than six years covering Pittsburgh at the Pittsburgh City Paper, including serving as managing editor. He can be reached at rdeto@triblive.com.
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