2008 - Dates and hours of operation; admission rates   
2008 - Open daily from May 12 to mid-October Hours: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. in May and October; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. in June and September; 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. in July and August.

Adult - $5.00;
60 + and adult student - $4.50;
Child 6 to 16 - $2;
Preschooler - free;
Family (max. 2 adults) - $14;
Group of 15 or more - $4.00 per person Taxes included in above prices.     
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  Who is this Edouard?    His roots
Edouard was born in 1914, son of Emmanuel and Roséline Arsenault of Cap-Egmont where he lived all his life, except for the years he served in the Second World War with the 8th N.B. Princess Louise Hussars in the United Kingdom, the Central Mediterranean area and Continental Europe (1941 - 1946). Fisherman by trade, at first with his father Emmanuel and later on his own, Édouard also worked as a carpenter during the non-fishing seasons most of his life, including boat building and construction work. In 1948, he married Rosina Leclerc of Urbainville, P.E.I. For several years, they resided in the Cap-Egmont lighthouse where Edouard served as the last resident lighthouse keeper. Their two elder children, Yvette and Réjeanne - the present owner of the Bottle Houses, were raised there for a few years until such time as the lighthouse was automated in 1957; the family then moved to the residence presently on the grounds of the Bottle Houses and two sons, Maurice and Pierre, were born shortly afterwards. Edouard's strong Acadian roots also led him to contribute greatly to the development of the Evangeline area, his home community. Even after his retirement, his creative energy and his sense of humour, very much Acadian, were channelled in his architectural project of transforming over 25,000 bottles into the colorful souvenirs he has left for all of us to admire.

Genealogy path of Edouard Arsenault
* Édouard, son of Emmanuel, son of Pierre, son of Joseph, son of Nicolas, son of Firmin, son of Paul, son of Jacques, son of Pierre Arsenault and Marie Guérin.
* His ancestor Pierre Arsenault, forebear of all the Acadian Arsenaults, was born in approximately 1650 in France. His place of birth is unknown. He arrived in Port-Royal in 1671 and worked as a coastal pilot. He married Marguerite Dugas in 1675 and later Marie Guérin; he fathered eight sons and one daughter. He moved to Beaubassin with his family in 1686. The Arsenaults residing in the Evangeline Region are all descendants of four of his sons.     
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  History of the Bottle Houses    A tedious task!
Over 25 000 recycled bottles ingeniously cemented together to create the Bottle Houses, a must-see tourist attraction situated in Cap-Egmont, Prince Edward Island, Canada. They were built by the late Édouard T. Arsenault. He gave birth to these houses after having received a postcard of a glass castle from his daughter in 1979, an attraction she had visited on Vancouver Island in British Columbia. That same summer, he started collecting bottles from his community, mostly from a local restaurant, community dance halls, friends, relatives and neighbours.

He spent the winter in the basement of his home, cleaning bottles, removing labels and dreaming of his project. In the spring of 1980, at the age of 66, he began his construction, a mere hobby yet. As his six-gabled structure was taking form, visitors started coming in. Impressed by his work, they encouraged him to continue and to advertise it as a tourist attraction. And so, in 1981, the first Bottle House was open to the public.

From 1980 to the spring of 1984, he cleverly cemented over 25,000 bottles of various shapes, sizes and colours, into three fantasy-like buildings.

The site offers a multitude of angles for the photographer to capture the wonder of what an individual built out of recycled bottles. It is also truly an inspirational spot for anyons who cares for the environment.     
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  A second time around   
Unfortunately, Prince Edward Island winters are not very gentle. The railway ties used as foundations by Édouard did not withstand the effects of the bad winter frosts. Over the years, the buildings deteriorated to the point that they had to be re-built from 1992 to 1998. To accomplish this task, the original buildings were photographed in all angles, carefully measured and then brought down by hand, recuperating the glass bottles from the mortar. Four foot foundations were then laid before local bricklayers carefully re-constructed the buildings, using the same bottles as in the original structures and following the same basic designs. The roof and the central cylinder of the second building are the only components that were maintained in their original form.

    
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