It is true that a picture is worth a thousand words because the creative mind, which lives richly in all of us, will fill in the empty spaces for us.
Perhaps equally true is that "ART" can also fill in the empty spaces for us....
The Cup was added in February, 2018 as a necessary adjunct to the Coffee Pot. Now the Cup/Mug exists for all those who enter therein. Go ahead- have some Joe!
The up-to-date history of The Coffee Pot House
The metal clad, round building, with an attached spout and handle, was constructed in 1959 by Kenneth Wills. Known as "The Coffee Pot" or "Teapot," it served as a restaurant. Some sources cite the original plans for the quirky building to have a globe on top that lit up as if it were percolating. Originally, a concrete walkway, painted red to suggest a hot burner on a stove, encircled the coffee pot shaped building. Ownership of the building changed hands within the Wills family after the restaurant closed, and a beer and wine bar ran for several years, followed by a gas station. Sources reported that the bar experience at the Coffee Pot included access to the private upstairs rooms for special patrons. A thriving vacation canoe rental was owned and operated at The Coffee Pot by Glen Rose from 1978 until 2005. A fresh fish market occupied the building after the canoe livery. In late 2016, after a period of on and off residential occupancy, artist, Mark Breithaupt, a former resident of Phoenix, Arizona, purchased the building and began developing and restoring the property. Mark used the building and the property as a live, work, and sale studio/gallery for stone, steel, and mixed media sculptural works and gifts. Mark also began updating the history of the building and reviving it's internet presence based on reports from long-time local residents and Wills family members who visited the building after he took over.
New Ownership:
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On August 6th 2018 ownership of the Coffee Pot was transferred to John Scott a nearby resident. John's plans for the property are unknown at this time. My sources told me that John worked at the Coffee pot when it was a canoe livery business. I now consider the Coffee Pot as my largest endeavor of sculptural art to date. Although I did not construct the building, my efforts to complete the buildings artistic expression with a complete makeover, structural restoration, and the addition of the cup are my contribution to it's completion. I consider it as much a piece of original art as anything else that I have created. A warm thanks to the late Kenneth Wills for his original artistic vision when he built the first generation version of the building. Good luck John Scott with your future there!
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The Coffee Pot House Studio is listed on the Lexington, Rockbridge Studio Tour and is included in: "The Architecture of Historic Rockbridge," the book "Weird Virginia," The websites and travel Apps for "Atlas Obscura", "Roadside America", and "Roadtrippers."
Coffee Pot Art Business Hours are: Wednesday thru Sunday 10 to 5
Monday and Tuesday by Appointment.
Photos, comments, and ratings about the Coffee Pot House experience are encouraged and can be posted on: