Columbia Bottling Works / Orange Crush


Company Names, addresses, dates1:
  Columbia Bottling Works, 911 2nd street NE (1920-1922)
  Columbia Orange Crush Bottling Co, 911 2nd street NE (1923-1930)
  Columbia Orange Kist Bottling Co, 911 2nd street NE (1932-1940)

Notes:
A Washington Post article from July 2, 1922 says that Stephen D. Lefas had started the Columbia Bottling Works 6 years ago (1916). It praised him for investing in soft drinks when at the time (pre-prohibition), soft drinks were not profitable.
Orange Crush was a national brand, so presumably the Columbia Bottling Works was a local bottler & distributor for that soft drink.
Stephen Lefas later became the owner of the Mount Vernon Bottling Co until 1949.

Columbia Bottling Co Bottles:

columbia_3 book # 168
8.2" aqua crown top (ABM) embossed:
crown: 10 G
front: COLUMBIA BOTTLING WKS / (star with CBW inside)
back: REGISTERED / WASHINGTON DC / CONTENTS 7 FLUID OZS
columbia_4 book # 168
This is an 8.2" aqua ABM crown top similar to above, except it has stars on the shoulders. It is embossed:
around the shoulder: (4 stars)
front: COLUMBIA BOTTLING WKS / (star with CBW inside)
back: REGISTERED / WASHINGTON DC / CONTENTS 7 FLUID OZS
columbia book # 170
10.9" aqua crown top (ABM) embossed:
front: REGISTERED / COLUMBIA / BOTTLING WORKS / WASHINGTON D.C. / 1 PINT AND 8 FLUID OUNCES
columbia_2 book # 171
11.5" aqua crown top (ABM) embossed:
front: COLUMBIA ORANGE CRUSH BOTTLING CO / (large C with O C B Co inside) / 911 2nd ST NE / WASHINGTON / D.C.
back: (star with C inside) / THIS / BOTTLE IS NEVER / SOLD AND MUST / BE RETURNED / REGISTERED / CONTENTS 24 FLU OZS
ocb_05 book # 466-alt
This is a clear, 7.6" tall ornate machine-made bottle. It's embossed:
front & rear diamond: PAT'D / JULY 20 1920 / ORANGE / CRUSH CO / BOTTLE
base: COL. O.C.B.W / 1927 / WASH D.C.



Orange Crush Bottles (w/o Columbia Bottling works embossing):
ocb_01 book # 365
This is a 7.6" tall clear ABM crown-top with a circle-in-square texture. It is embossed:
heel: PATENT PENDING MIN CONTENTS 6 FL. OZ.
base: WASHINGTON D.C. / S. LEFAS / 3
ocb_02 book # 451
This is an aqua 7.6" ABM crown-top with a circle-in-square texture, just like the bottle above. This one is embossed:
heel: PATENT JULY 15 1924 MIN CONTENTS 6 FL. OZ.
base: O.C.B. CO. / WASHINGTON D.C. / 26
Presumably "O.C.B. CO" stands for "Orange Crush Bottling Company"
ocb_04 book # 451-alt
This is an aqua 7.6" ABM crown-top with a circle-in-square texture, just like the bottle above, except this one does not say "O.C.B.". This one is embossed:
heel: PATENT JULY 15 1924 MIN CONTENTS 6 FL. OZ.
base: WASHINGTON D.C. / 26
ocb_03 book # 466
These are clear, 7.6" tall ornate machine-made bottles. The left one is embossed:
front & rear diamond: PAT'D / JULY 20 1920 / ORANGE / CRUSH CO / BOTTLE / 6 FL OZ
heel: 1960 E
base: O.C.B. CO. / WASHINGTON D.C. / 26
The right one is embossed:
front & rear diamond: PAT'D / JULY 20 1920 / ORANGE / CRUSH / BOTTLE / 6 FL OZ
base: WASHINGTON D.C. / 26


Other Items:
columbia_ad This is an ad from a 1925 DC phone book.
kist_cap_01 This is a bottle cap. It is marked:
COLUMBIA ORANGE KIST BOTG. CO. / ARTIFICIAL COLOR / GOLDEN / ORANGE / KIST / REG US PAT OFF / A CARBONATED BEVERAGE / 1/20 of 1% BENZOATE OF SODA / CONTAINS SUGAR, WATER / ORANGE OIL, PULP AND JUICE / CONTS. 7 FL. OZ. / WASHINGTON DC


1 Boyd's Directory for the District of Columbia (various years)



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This page last updated on October 27, 2018.