Massive Dr. Pepper Bottle Set for Texas Museum

Texas and Dr. Pepper go together like summer heat and a cold soda straight from the cooler. Sure, you can find the 23-flavor favorite all over the country now, but in Texas it just hits a little different! After all, this is the state where Dr. Pepper was born back in 1885- as well know from the logo- and Texans have been proudly claiming it as their hometown drink ever since!

Now, the soda’s birthplace is about to get a brand-new tribute that’s hard to miss.

Waco’s Dr. Pepper Museum Is Going Big for Its Birthday

The Dr. Pepper Museum in Waco is getting ready to celebrate its 35th anniversary this May, and the celebration is coming with a very Texas-sized centerpiece: a 23-foot-tall Dr. Pepper bottle!

The museum recently received a donation of $1,023,000 from the Hillman Family Foundation in honor of Cornerstone Caregiving. The numbers themselves are intentional; the extra $23,000 nods to the soda’s legendary 23 flavors. That’s a very pricey nod!

Part of that donation will help fund the construction of the giant Dr. Pepper bottle, which is expected to be unveiled during the museum’s birthday celebration on May 9. Unless someone beats them to it, the towering bottle will also likely claim the title of the largest Dr. Pepper bottle in the world.

Dr. Pepper Has Become One of Texas’ Proudest Creations

The museum itself sits inside a nearly 100-year-old bottling plant in downtown Waco that’s listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the official “Home of Dr. Pepper.”

Inside, visitors can explore more than 300,000 pieces of soft-drink memorabilia. But it’s not just Dr. Pepper collectibles, the exhibits dive into the entire soda industry, featuring everything from early advertising to memorabilia from other brands like Pepsi-Cola.

It’s also a pretty fitting moment for the brand to get a giant tribute. In recent years, Dr. Pepper has surged in popularity and recently passed Pepsi to become the No. 2 selling soda in the United States, behind only Coca-Cola.

When the new bottle is unveiled this spring, it’ll serve as a towering reminder of just how far the Waco-born soda has come- from a local Texas drink to one of the biggest soft drink brands in the country. And if any state is going to celebrate its favorite soda with a giant monument, it’s probably going to be Texas.

Dr. Pepper Flavors That Are Rare Or Discontinued

Dr. Pepper might very well be the "unofficial-official" soft drink of Texas, but throughout its history, there are several flavors that have come and gone. Here are some flavors that we miss.

Gallery Credit: Daniel Paulus