Unique / Unusual / One-Of-A-Kind, Houston

A Houstonian has covered his entire house with beer cans and beer can parts. He says he drank them all! So, for a look at a unique house, folk art at its most funny and original, stop by this quiet residencial neighborhood and have a look!
The Beer Can House was bought by the Orange Show, an organisation promoting alternative and folk art in Houston.

Directions:
The beer house is located in a neighborhood just East of Memorial Park, in Houston.
Take Memorial Drive west from downtown past Shepherd. Turn right on Malone Street, and go two blocks. The house is on your right.

If there's any fire-fighter in your blood or in your family, this is an interesting side trip to make while in Houston. It's a little South of downtown at 2403 Milam Street. There are nice displays of old fire-fighting memorabilia including a hand-powered and a steam-powered pumper. It' s mostly for the kids with a section of a brass rail for them to slide down and the cabin of a fire truck to climb in and turn the lights on. And lastly, there's a gift shop with a nice selection of T-shirts, tie clips, emblems, and other trinkets with a fire-fighting theme.
Admission is $2 for adults, $1 for kids.

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John Milkovisch’s (an artest) created, In the late 60’s, what's now referred to as the “Beer Can House” . it is located at 222 Malone Street. John started his project in 1968 inlaying thousands of marbles, rocks, brass figures and metal pieces in concrete blocks and redwood, all of which were used to make patios, fences, flower boxes, etc. The result was a yard with no grass. The entire front and back was covered with cement. When asked why he did it, John simply answered, “I got sick of mowing the grass.”

LOCATION
Beer Can House
222 Malone
Houston, Texas
77007

DIRECTIONS
Located just off Memorial Drive between Shepherd and Westcott. From Shepherd, head west on Memorial. Turn right (north) on Malone just after the light at Detering Street. The Beer Can House is approximately 1 block up on the right hand side of the street.

PRICE
0$ per person

Its worth seeing if you have time to put it in your trip.

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Just southwest of Houston is the George Ranch in Richmond, TX. I've never been but am including this tip because many travelers want to see an "old west" or "cowboy" side of Houston -- which nowadays, is hard to come by unless it's Rodeo time.

According to the web site, the ranch offers vistors:

- The struggles of early pioneers to Texas at the colonial stock farm.
- Colonial life in Mexican Texas before it was a state.
- A visit to the days of cattle drives, chuck wagon fare and cowboy camps.
- The craftsmanship of a working blacksmith.
- The splendor of the Victorian age at the Davis House.
- The role of black cowboys on developing Texas ranches.
- The skills of the working cowboys at the Ranch.

Please visit their web site for more.

Drove out towards North/East Texas to the "coroner" (as they so put it on their web site) of Barren Springs and Ella Boulevard to a massively large complex called "The National Museum of Funeral History". No cars in the parking lot. Ghostly feel. I wondered if they were actually open. There was a lit "open" sign on a side door, but had an arrow telling me to go around to the front. I tried to open the front door - it seemed locked. I startled the slump of a human figure sitting behind the desk. She came and opened the door - was very welcoming and invited me in. Walking through the gift shop with serious funeral books mixed with goofy death gifts ... down a corporate hall with frames of newspaper articles about their grand opening. I walked into a large warehouse of hearses, funeral artifacts, historical clippings, funerary art, and demo stations. It was very intriguing. Apparently the museum opened its doors on October 18, 1992 and now is one of the U.S.'s largest Museums covering the Funeral Industry. It's attached to a school where they teach morticians and undertakers how to do their job. A classic collection of funerary hearses ranging from the 1921 Rock Falls Hearse to earlier horse-drawn carriage versions. From Fantasy Coffins (of Ghana) (ranging from lobsters, cows, crabs, eagles, etc. to trains, planes, and boats) to Sarcophagi. Dioramas of a mortuary to an embalming room, including a nicely done Civil Warm Embalming tent. It was very intriguing. More can be found out about it at http://www.nmfh.org/. There were a few intriguing things of interest in the gift shop, but I was a little broke. They seemed decently priced. From undertaker hot sauce to Mortuary books. I wish they had a Book of the dead. You know, those photograph books of the deceased. I would like one of those.

The usual thing travelers miss when visiting Houston is their freeway exit, generally because neither the road layout or the signage is always logical, or, in the case of signs, present at all. This is best avoided by traveling to Houston only on business, taking cabs irrespective of cost, and putting the fares on your expense account.

Montrose. If you have an open mind, then visit Montrose. It is the 'strange' part of town, filled with tattoo and piercing shops, vintage stores, gay bars, and junk stores. The yuppies have begun to invade it though, so a lot of the charm has been drowned out by Townhomes and uppity restaurants. But the 'strange' people are still prevalent. And you will still shake your head in disbelief at some of the stuff you will see. It is by far the BEST part of Houston (minus those stupid yuppies).

My brother and his two roommates flew into Houston from NYC and after lunch we drove by this house on the way to their hotel in the Galleria area. The house is located just off Memorial at 222 Malone. To find it, leave downtown and go west on Memorial past Shepherd. Turn right on Malone and the house is two blocks up on your right.

The house is not really a destination...but is something to see if you are passing through the area. It really is amazing to look at and wonder if the owner saved all the empty cans and then covered his house with them, or covered the house as he drank the cans. And was he perhaps drunk while he was covering his house??? It is definitely a one of a kind type sight...but don't get your hopes up too high, there is nothing to do but get out of your car, take a look, and then get back in your car. Enjoy your exploration of Houston!

Going northbound on the Metro, looking to your left around McGowen Station, you'll see many older shopping centres with signs written in Vietnamese.

This shopping centre is inside the Supermarket CHO QUE HUONG. There is a foods market, beauty salons, music shops and various other business and authenic restaurants run by and marketed for Vietnamese citizens. I felt like I was instantly transported into any market in Ho Chi Minh City!

The Pho restaurant and french-bread sandwich shop was yummy, and real deal homestyle cooking!

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My ex's father had a spot at a hangar, and i got a chance to fly in an open top airplane built in the 1920's Red Barron style. Everyone we met at the hangar was eager to talk planes, and even more eager to get you to ride in it. For anyone interested I'd say a local hangar is a day trip outside Houston well worth taking.