Being the biggest city in Texas, Houston is home to many amazing things to see. While awe-inspiring downtown architecture, vibrant Heights stores, and eye-popping murals might not be anything too outside the norm, there are plenty of destinations that give Houston its curious magic. From houses made of beer cans to castles and chapels dedicated to Rothko, discover these 10 quirky places in Houston to add a little curiosity to your season!
1. The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art
The heart and soul of Houston’s creative community, The Orange Show are the brilliant minds behind some of the city’s most beloved concepts including the Art Car Parade, Smither Park, and Beer Can House. Presently, The Orange Show is closed as it undergoes a massive expansion and new world-class campus.
2401 Munger Street
2. Chong Hua Sheng Mu Holy Palace
The suburbs are known for many things: chain restaurants, strip malls, cookie-cutter homes, tumultuous HOAs — as mixed-residential counties devoid of personality and/or culture. While there’s no shortage of churches in Dairy Ashford, what you might not expect to find is an abandoned Taoist palace.
The impressive exterior of this austere five-story sanctuary is a geometrical work of symmetry. It features two opposing, diagonal staircases, a giant rectangular front entrance, twin prismatic pillars, and a herculean geodesic orb on top. Inside is over 40,000 square feet of who-knows-what.
3695 Overture Drive
3. Beer Can House
The Ripley’s Believe It Or Not-featured Beer Can House in Houston puts frat houses to shame with its over 50,000 cans-constructed beer casa. The project began back in 1968 when retired railroad upholsterer, John Milkovisch began experimenting with metal, marble, and rocks into concrete and redwood.
After overflowing his backyard with these structures, Milkovisch went to work on his house. Over the course of 18 years, Milkovisch built his aluminum beer can siding resulting in the intoxicating structure we see today.
222 Malone St.
4. Smithers Park
Smithers Park, a creative urban space filled with technicolored mosaic installations, a meditation garden, a whimsical set of swings, and more! Curated by The Orange Show Center For Visionary Art – the same organization behind the Art Car Parade and Beer Can House. As such, Smither is embedded with the same quirky and endearing community-driven artistic flair.
2441 Munger St.
5. Lanier Theological Library
Tucked in a little pocket of Northwest Houston is a small yet glorious English village complete with a 17,000-square-foot University of Oxford-inspired library, train, and cobblestone street. Located on CEO Mark Lanier’s 35-acre estate, the library encompasses 17,000 square feet, equipped with plenty of nooks and crannies to cozy up and study, research, and/or get lost in one of its 100,000 volumes.
14130 Hargrave Rd.
6. Newman’s Castle
In the small town of Bellville Texas just outside of Houston lies a replica medieval castle. The hand-made castle is fully equipped, featuring a 3,000-pound drawbridge, moat, and a knightly guest quarters. Tours are available wherein guests are invited to explore the castle’s many features including the likes of five corner turrets, a chapel, portcullis, and courtyard.
1041 Old Hwy 36, Bellville, TX 77418
7. Rothko Chapel
Founded in 1971, the Rothko Chapel in Montrose is a quiet little sanctuary on the grounds of the Menil Collection. Here, visitors are welcome to sit, reflect, meditate, and or simply admire the 14 Rothko murals adorning the space.
3900 Yupon St.
8. notsuoH
Part dive bar, part performing arts venue, notsuoH is a wonderfully weird little watering hole in Downtown Houston. The bohemian-style bar oozes creative energy, manifested in the venues regular poetry readings, live shows, and Houston counter culture.
314 S Main St.
9. The Cistern
“Underground” is a moniker often used only by those in the know. In Houston, the underground art scene could mean just that, or, it could refer to the art scene literally underground at the Buffalo Bayou Park Cistern. The historical decommissioned underground reservoir is regularly open for tours, or, better yet, a one-of-a-kind venue that offers the most surreal acoustics in town.
105-B Sabine St.
10. Meow Wolf Houston’s Radio Tave
Opened in Houston this past year, Meow Wolf is a colossal wonderland packed with all sorts of curiosities, abstract art pieces, and hidden gems. A visit to Radio Tave is an experience in storytelling, where explorers are encouraged to follow their curiosities through the venue’s many nooks, crannies, and secret passageways. The venue also houses a surrealist honky tonk speakeasy, featuring a yarn-spinning jukebox, pool table, and kitchen.
2103 Lyons Ave Building 2