Drive to El Paso, Texas. Go here. See the House of Sugar. Marvel at its beauty and craft. In the mean time, read more about it here.
A Sunday drive around the Houston we never visit had me missing our camera. Fortunately, Google’s all-seeing eye will eventually eliminate the need for cameras, eyes and and, eventually, memory. Included in our adventures were unexpected sculptures, roads less taken and a four-lane path to salvation. I’ll start with the roadside art.
Near the 610 and 288 interchange, a collection of steel sculptures; a standing figure, flying planes, a roadrunner, a spider and more all live along the Frontage Road. Geocentric website Platial (“What and Who’s Nearby”) has a local user (ShootHouston) who attributes the works to the Texas Pipe & Supply Company. So… it must be true. Google Earth does seem to back it up, with a collection of industrial buildings and stacks of pipes neighboring the art.
I love weird roadside attractions, so when I discovered Houstonian NarrowLarry I was pleased. He’s a fountain of information and one of his many interests is American folkart environments. A recent visit to his site shows the welcome addition of a google map with over 100 such locations. Most of the places have corresponding weblinks and he has visited many of the places personally. A quick look at some of the Texas locations has me itching for a roadtrip. With gas so cheap, we could even afford it!
The embedded Google Map below may not be displaying correctly, a problem on Google’s part. This KML link can be opened in Google Earth and will properly display the locations that Narrow Larry has kindly placed for all to see.
The ability to spontaneously leave the house has been all but eradicated since the arrival of Z. That being the case, I’m working on places to visit in Houston that achieve my desired level of interestingness/strangeness/out-of-the-ordinariness. I would like to take her to some of these places. Partially out of the necessity of baby management and partially to see what it will be like to continue this sort of exploration with a kid in tow.
A quick search of Flickr shows no pictures of this local nautical museum. The website is charmingly cheesy and the place promises much of the same. Model boats and I’m betting old guys who would be surprised to see a young (looking) guy show up. It’s happened before, and usually results in interesting and lengthy conversations (an example would be my unplanned visit to Holland Lodge #1.) Really close to my place, a plus.
The BAPS Shree Swaminarayan Mandir
When the Shree Swaminarayan Mandir opened in Atlanta, I got the most hits to my site and Flickr pix as a result of people finding my blog entry and pictures (Hi, Indian subcontinent.) We left Atlanta before looking at the beautiful Hindu temple built in Lilburn, GA. Here in Texas, south of Houston is another Hindu temple of the same affiliation. Looks like the same traditional construction with the same gorgeous results.
Lastly, this is a list of places that I’ve been meaning to photograph for sometime. Maybe the act of making a list will get me in gear.
In all my time living in Vegas, I never saw the Johnston J-B Stables. When my wife saw the pictures Sin City friend Ms. Bonanza took of it (on Flickr), she said it reminded her of the Orange Show photos I took. I think she is totally right.
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }
It’s the perfect sign. A short name, a drawing of a drink, an arrow to show you where, and when you get there, you’ll be staring at the large TV. Drink and watch the tube, that’s what you’ll be doing at the ROLL-N.
First, a greeting to those reading…
To Mr. Carter – 20 gallon cowboy hats are a no! But the missus looks cute in her 1.3 liter cowboy hat. And I’m not averse to cowboy boots.
To Mr. Shirley – yes, the Montrose/Upper Kirby was full of washed-out intersections. I wasn’t surprised when a cheap import was stalled out due to the water, but the disabled Volvo and pickup truck made me worry about navigating the city in our car.
My highly attuned “weirdness” radar had been getting all sorts of hits in Houston. From an abandoned mini-golf course near the 610, a metal penthouse with a weather vane atop it to assorted other objects of interest, H-town has a growing collection of places I need to visit, photograph and cross off my list.
Just the few trips running errands have been rewarded with random sightings while en route and the strangeness that this city has is promising.
Even more so than other places, I feel like there will be some reward for being interested in these places. These places have like-minded fans of such things, and that would be something new for me.
Another present from Houston to me will be our first roller derby bout on Sunday. I wonder if it will be bad form to wear my Atlanta derby shirt. Well, ATL will be representing and the local girls will have to win me over. Something tells me they will! Anyone reading is welcome to introduce themselves at the game (or online); my shirt will have the phrase “Dirty South Derby” on the back.
Just today, the New York Times published an article answering a question I had. What is this place?
.flickr-photo { border: solid 2px #000000; }.flickr-yourcomment { }.flickr-frame { text-align: left; padding: 3px; }.flickr-caption { font-size: 0.8em; margin-top: 0px; }
It is the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir Hindu temple on the corner of Lawrenceville Highway and Rockbridge Rd NW (Google Map).
The above picture was taken in April ’07 while construction was taking place. The New York Times article has a picture of the completed building and states that it should be opening about the last week in July. I don’t know what the decorum is for visiting a Hindu temple for a non-believer, but I do believe that I will try to visit it before leaving for Houston.
About the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir from Harvard’s Pluralism Project.
Brochure detailing the temple project, with drawings and building details and descriptions.
Our move to Texas is still months away but I am cruising the web for places of interest in Houston. I feel like by the time we get there I’ll be pretty well schooled in the city’s attractions.
One source for unique Houston locations is Hot Town, Cool City. Included is a map ( I *heart* maps), links to the locations, and a trailer to a movie of the same name as the site.
The Aurora Picture Show looks like a great arts movie venue. The preview got me intrigued, and isn’t that what the movie is for! Its seems like a big ra-ra-cheerleader lovefest, but that’s okay. It’s nice to see people enthused about their city and for good reasons.
Also found, this great picture of Houston at night.
My Houston Google Map
Houston – a photoset on Flickr
Flickr: Photos tagged with nationalmuseumoffuneralhistory
Now that she handed in her resignation, I’ve been given permission to blog about this. The missus has a new job in Houston, TX . While I’ve never had much of an interest in the Lone Star state, the brief research I’ve done on Houston has piqued my interest. Things to look forward to about my new city :
National Museum of Funeral History “Experience the skill and workmanship of 100 years ago as you enter an authentically recreated Casket Factory set in the early 1900’s.” Come on, that exciting stuff, people! Also, glass caskets and contemporary African fantasy coffins.
The Orange Show – Starting as a one man’s attempt to make the single greatest attraction in the country, the Orange Show Center for the Visionary Arts is now home to Jeff McKissack’s strange home/homage to his favorite fruit, are also renovating the Beer Can House and offer Eyeopener Tours, “…Eyeopeners, we called the tour, ‘places that made you stop, look and look again.’ At our committee meetings, we tried to outdo each other in bringing the most interesting food, the best story, a great new sighting.”
The Art Car Museum – Houston is home to loads of people taking cars and transforming them into eccentric pieces of art. Also see: Houston Art Car Parade 2006 – a photoset on Flickr
All in all, promising stuff.
We have a couple of months before the move. Started to amass a collection of Houston blogs, while somewhat informative but so far fewer Houston bloggers than I expected in a city that size.
I’m also starting the process of disconnecting from Atlanta. It has begun in simple ways, starting with unsubscribing to local online mailing lists for galleries and music venues. That was the easy part. The hard one, telling one of my employers who I like very much. They had been using me exclusively for art installation and I’ve really enjoyed working with them. So, I’ll miss them much. When I did it, they were pretty excited for my wife, and offered to recommend me to anyone who called. Plus, an artist they rep lives in Houston so I might have someone to talk to there about opportunities.
Neon Poisoning 