Pittsburgh city officials have released a giant Heinz ketchup bottle from its grip.

After the Heinz History Center placed the 35-foot bottle outside its building late last year, the city demanded the institution seek a zoning variance because it was a sign and too tall for existing regulations.

The city’s Zoning Board of Adjustment ruled this week, however, that the massive condiment was, in fact, not a sign, and thus didn’t need a variance to stay put.

In December, one of two oversized Heinz ketchup bottles removed from Acrisure Stadium was installed outside the Strip District museum at the corner of Smallman and 15th streets. The 35-foot bottle was placed on a platform that brought its total height to more than 52 feet. Zoning calls for a 40-foot height limit for signs in that part of the city.

But in a pun-filled ruling, the Zoning Board said it “did not relish” causing any legal drama over the bottle, and it appreciated that representatives from the history center were apologetic for installing the sign without contacting city officials first.

“(They) laid it on thick when apologizing for acting like a hot dog when it installed the ketchup bottle without first determining what approvals might be required,” read the decision.

The board determined that the history center acquired the ketchup bottle as an artifact from the former Heinz Field, and said the Heinz name on the bottle was coincidental and not an attempt to promote the museum.

“If the wording on the bottle included ‘Hunt’s’ or ‘Del Monte,’ it would be less palatable, regionally, but would be more clearly excluded from the Code’s definition of ‘sign,’ ” read the decision.

Heinz History Center president and CEO Andy Masich, responding in kind, said he was “dill-ighted” with the Zoning Board decision.

“I was happy to see the Zoning Board understood the pickle we were in and responded with good humor,” Masich said.

“Since its installation, the 35-foot bottle has poured on the excitement as a popular attraction and photo opportunity for locals and tourists alike. We hope visitors continue to snap selfies with the bottle and ketch-up on H.J. Heinz Company history at the Smithsonian’s home in Pittsburgh.”

The other giant Heinz ketchup bottle is on display at Acrisure Stadium at Gate C.

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