Weird and Unique Houston

Why should you want a tour of Houston? What makes Houston stand out from all other cities? What will put a smile on your face and cause you to laugh? Of what will you want to take photos?

We offer two different 5-hour Weird and Unique Houston Tours.  Each one starts in downtown and spends about 1 to 1.5 hours in downtown.  Tour A then covers the east side and Tour B covers the west side of downtown.

I-45 north of downtown and State Highway 288 south of downtown are the dividing lines of the east side Tour A and the west side Tour B. 

The Weird and Unique Houston tours have much to entertain and amaze you! The following slideshow gives you a glimpse of some of what the tours offer.  The following slideshow does not start automatically. Click the forward arrow at the top of the first picture to start the show. If you want more time to examine a picture, you can pause the slideshow by hovering your mouse over the image. Taking your mouse away will cause the slideshow to resume playing.

  • Weird and Unique Houston
 
 
  • Aluminum House

    This residential home looks like a 1950s' air- stream recreational vehicle.

  • Frank Zeni's Little Temple

    Frank Zeni is an Italian-American architect who designed the exterior of this one-of-a-kind home in the Rice Military District.

  • Frank Zeni's Home

    Would you like me to contact Mr. Zeni on your behalf so he he can build a home for you? How do you think this may affect property values?

  • Frank Zeni's Second Floor

    On his second floor balcony, Frank Zeni has a replica of a large armadillo, huge high chairs, and more. It is colorful.

  • Frank Zeni's Gargoyle House

    See the collection of mufflers with arms and hands reaching for help at Frank Zeni's home. He actually lives here.

  • Frank Zeni's Artwork

    See a sandwich made of tires and gas tanks in front of Frank Zeni's home. How would you like to live next to this property?

  • Beer Can House Sign

    The Beer Can House is open for tours. Does it inspire you to start designing a similar home? It is the second most famous home in Houston.

  • Gate to the Beer Can House

    A lack of zoning spurs creativity. What do you want to create on your property?

    Note that the gate is fashioned almost entirely with beer can tops.

  • The Beer Can House

    This house is lined in over 50,000 beer cans. Live by the Golden Rule. Beer goes in golden and flows out golden. The Roman numerals are the physical address of 222.

  • View of the Beer Can House

    In addition to the house, the foundation, fencing, gates, and garage are all covered in beer cans. Hundreds of beer can lids form dozens of wind chimes surrounding the house.

  • Garage of Beer Can House

    The garage of the Beer Can House is its visitors center and gift shop.

  • Spear House

    With Houston's minimal zoning, almost anything can be built. This structure is a two-story narrow aluminum home surrounded by 8 three-story wooden spears.

  • Art Car

    Visit Mark Bradford's art car studio and see this and more such vehicles

  • Mount Rush Hour

    Nicknamed Mount Rush Hour, this series of busts in Houston memorializes two of the greatest presidents and two of the greatest Texans. From left to right are:
    1. Stephen Fuller Austin (1793 - 1836)
    2. Sam Houston (1793 - 1863)
    3. Abraham Lincoln (1809 - 1865)
    4. George Washington (1732 - 1799)

    The artist is David Adickes (1927 - Present). Adickes is one of the three greatest artists in Texas history.

    The Mount Rush Hour exhibit is located about 2 to 3 miles distant from David Adickes studio and warehouse some of whose exhibits come next in this slideshow.

  • David Adickes - More Presidents
    p>The David Adickes studio and warehouse property is open to walk amongst the presidents about 1/3 of the time. Have yourself photographed with your favorite president or make an offer to buy and have one shipped to your front lawn.

  • David Adickes - bust of LBJ
    p>At David Adickes's studio and warehouse, you can see over 40 two-story tall busts of US presidents. Here is Lyndon Baines Johnson, #36, who served from 1963 to 1969.

  • David Adickes - A Lincoln and G H W Bush

    To the left is an inverted back side of President Abraham Lincoln, #16, 1861 - 1865. The whole face will appear to move with you as you walk past it. To the right is George Herbert Walker Bush, #41, 1989 - 1993.

  • David Adickes - Charlie Chaplin

    This statue of Charlie Chaplin is five stories tall!

  • The Beatles

    Meet four-story tall statues of John, Paul, George, and Ringo, circa 1968. David Adickes was the artist.

  • Water Wall Sign

    Architects John Burgee and Philip Johnson designed the Water Wall for developer Gerald D. Hines. It opened in 1985, two years after the Transco Tower opened.

  • Water Wall1

    The 64 foot high water wall has 11,000 gallons of water pouring over it each minute. It is actually the air conditioning tower for the 64 story tall Wlliams Tower.

  • Water Wall2

    The Water Wall is the most popularly photographed site in Houston. Young ladies like having wedding photos taken here as well as 15 year old Hispanic girls enjoy posing for quienciera photos inside the semi-circle of water.

  • Water Wall3

    Notice how the architects Philip Johnson and John Burgee framed the view of the Water Wall from the north. The spray and mist that the Water Wall produces is quite refreshing from April through September.

Aluminum House

 

The tours normally begin at 10:00 AM and end at 3:00 PM. We try to avoid both the morning and evening rush hours when the tour is on a Monday through Friday.  This tour is also available on Sunday and Saturday.  We can be flexible with the scheduling if you want to start at a different time.  The tour can be shortened upon request; remember one has to delete sites with an abbreviated tour.

Let us know if there is anything you would like us to skip for any reason.  We realize that you may already be familiar with some sites and or some sites with racist and anti-Semitic themes could be offensive.

Walking is required to reach some sites, particularly statues in parks and cemeteries.  If the weather is inclement or extremely hot and humid, we may not include these sites, or the customer can walk to them on their own.

With only about 5 exceptions, all of the sites are within the I-610 Loop.

 

In Memoriam<

I have fond memories of the following people.  We used to include:

  1. Artist Bert Long, Jr’s Vision Park, a park area that had statues of over two dozen eyeballs on pedestals with the theme that a people without a vision are doomed.  Bert Long (1940 – 2013) has passed away and almost all of his statues have been vandalized and destroyed.
  2. The Flower Man Cleveland Turner’s home.  Mr. Turner collected what might be junk to other people and transformed his property into a site similar to the television show’s Fred Sandford in Sanford and Son.  His home was colorful and joyful to see and he always was welcoming.  However, Mr. Turner (1943 – 2013) has died and his house has been bulldozed.

Geographic Locations

 

Listings in bold-face in the next three lists are also potential restaurants for potential lunch stops, also.


Downtown – Both Tours A and B.  This takes roughly the first 1 to 1.5 hours of each tour.

  1. The Listening Vessels by Doug Hollis. These two cement cylinders set about 200 feet apart will project your voice from one to the other when you talk directly into them. Bring a friend to carry-on a conversation.
  2. The water bubble (when it works) in Buffalo Bayou. Is there an underwater sea creature there? No!
  3. The Donnellan Crypt. Four people were buried here between 1849 and 1867 underneath present-day downtown before they were exhumed in December 1901.
  4. The remnants of an 1890s bridge under the current bridge.
  5. 4-story stained glass depiction of a muscular six-pack Jesus floating over the skyline of Houston.
  6. A tropical garden with a waterfall.
  7. Welcome to Downtown Houston sign facing the wrong direction of traffic.
  8. Hubcap Grill.  Great hamburgers in a hole-in-the wall restaurant with limited seating.  Closed on Sunday.
  9. A statue of a blacksmith.
  10. A statue of the jersey of Hakeem Olajuwon.
  11. A statue glorifying the Confederacy.
  12. An image of an African American picking cotton for white gods and goddesses.
  13. An image of a protective Confederate soldier.
  14. An image of a Jew with devil horns.
  15. Artwork in Discovery Green Park.
  16. Artwork in Market Square Park.
  17. The mural “Houston is Inspired” by gonzo247.
  18. Virtuoso statue by David Adickes, the most popular statue in downtown.
  19. Personage and Birds statue by Jean Miro.
  20. Monument Au Fantome statue by Jean Dubuffet.
  21. Geometric Mouse X statue by Claus Oldenburg.
  22. In Minds statue by Tony Cragg.
  23. George Herbert Walker Bush statue by Chas Fagan.
  24. James Addison Baker, III statue by Chas Fagan.
  25. Seven Wonders structures by Mel Chin.
  26. The Hanging Oak tree where we used to lynch people in the 1830s and 1840s.
  27. Irma’s Original Mexican restaurant.  Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” featured it.  Closed on Sunday.  Closed for lunch on Saturday

 


    Tour A Areas and Sites

    Near South Houston

    1. Two-story home with a tower built between 1980 and 2011 when the owner Charles Fondow died.

    Eado

    1. 8th Wonder Brewery with 4 story statues of The Beatles.
    2. We Love Houston sign.
    3. Tim Hootman Law Office with strange looking statues including an iron Reubenesque woman.
    4. Eado murals.

    2nd Ward

    1. The Navigation Boulevard Esplanade.  Colorful area to have neighborhood celebrations.

    5th Ward

    1. David Adickes’s studio to see over forty 2-story tall statues of the presidents of the United States.
    2. The St. Arnold Brewery Company with art cars and a champagne fountain.
    3. The Fifth War Jam (a blown open old wooden home that is now an outdoor performance hall in a park).
    4. 5th Ward Mosaic of famous residents including Barbara Jordan and George Foreman.
    5. The Last Concert Café.  It formerly was a brothel.  Closed on Monday.  Open on Sunday and Saturday for brunch from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM.  Open for lunch Tuesday through Friday from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM.  Reopens for dinner at 4:30 PM.  The kitchen closes at 10:30 PM.  The bar is open until 2:00 AM.  It has live music on Wednesday through Saturday.

    Northside

    1. The Vaquero by Luis Jimenez in Moody Park.  This is a very colorful statue.

    Southeast Houston

    1. A two-story statue of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus on the front lawn of a residential house.
    2. A 4-foot marble face of Jesus that appears to move in all directions.
    3. A unique cemetery with great artwork, landscaping, mausoleums, chapels, abbeys, and waterforms.
    4. The Orange Show Monument and Smither Park. Jeff D. McKissack singlehandedly built The Orange Show between 1956 and 1979. It honors oranges. It is an outdoor museum with a maze of halls made of cinder blocks and tractor seats and wheels. It is only open on Sunday and Saturday from 12:00 to 5:00 PM, but one can easily see it from the outside on any day.
    5. Smither Park is a work in progress with unique spaces and pathways. When finished, it is supposed to  have a grotto, meditation garden, 400-foot memory wall, a serpentine tunnel, interactive tower, and a long-sweep of swings.  

    The University of Houston

    1. Flamenco Dancer statue by Luis Jimenez.  It is very colorful.
    2. Shasta; two cougar bronze statues by Daniel Glanz.  The UH mascot is a cougar.
    3. Series of chairs.

     

    Tour B Areas and Sites

    3rd Ward

    1. General Sam Houston statue riding on his horse.  This is the most famous statue in Houston.
    2. Mahatma Gandhi statue.
    3. Martin Luther King, Jr. statue.
    4. Confucius statue.

    4th Ward

    1. Lankford Grocery and Market.  Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” featured it.

    6th Ward

    1. A brick street.
    2. An art cow on a rooftop.
    3. An art cow on a front lawn.
    4. A statue of a metal frog mariachi player and rooster.
    5. Day of the Dead/Dia de los Muertos images.
    6. An Orange Crush and beer can statue of Our Lady of Guadalupe with what might be Elvis at her feet.
    7. “Our United Community” mural.  Children from MECA originally painted this in 1985.
    8. Facial masks.
    9. The Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern.  This used to be a water reservoir.
    10. Mount Rush Hour.  See Stephen F. Austin, Sam Houston, George Washington, and Abraham Lincoln.
    11. The original 1923 Jefferson Davis Hospital.  This is considered the most haunted place in Houston.

    South Houston

    1. Eclectic Menagerie Park – Over one dozen monsters and creatures made of iron.

    Outside of the I-610 Loop

    1. The 64-foot tall Gerald D. Hines Waterwall.  It is the most photographed area in Houston.
    2. Bubba’s Texas Burger Shack.

    Rice Military District

    1. The Spear House.  8 three-story wooden posts with metal spears surround an aluminum house.
    2. The Beer Can House. Over 50,000 beer cans cover the home and property.
    3. The Gargoyle and Frog House. The house also has blue dogs, huge high chairs, and an armadillo.

    The Old West End

    1. Margaritas To Go.  This is a drive-through margarita site.  It also has food:  burgers and hot dogs.
    2. Mark Bradford’s art car studio.  See unique vehicles.  We sometimes skip this for the Art Car Museum.

    Houston Heights

    1. The Art Car Museum.  This is only open on Sunday and Wednesday through Saturday.
    2. Artwork in the esplanade of Heights Boulevard.
    3. Oddities and Curiosities.  Have you ever seen a real skeleton, shrunken heads, and taxidermies?
    4. The former City Hall of Houston Heights from 1914.

    Greater River Oaks Area

    1.  Red Lion British Pub.  Guy Fieri’s “Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives” featured it.