In the border city of El Paso, Texas, 4301 Leavell is the Casa de Azucar (The Sugar House). The striking home stands out from the other houses in the architecturally undistinguished neighborhood. It is the sole building on a long narrow plot, with houses on two sides and a tall highway embankment on the third. This allowed the owner to build three street-side walls, with an undecorated alley on the backside. Just about every inch of those walls is covered with delicate ornate decorations, looking much like applied frosting (hence the name).

Started in 1973 by Rufino Loya, a retired Levi Strauss worker, it has been growing ever since. The inspiration for the house was a promise he made to his wife that he would make something beautiful for her. Drawing from memories of the churches he saw growing up in Mexico he created a magical corner of the world in El Paso - an oasis of beauty sitting incongruously beside Highway 54. It's a true labour of love.

Shrines to Jesus, The Virgin Mary, Saint Francisco de Asis and scripture are built along the walls. Mild variations within the decorative elements give everything a hand-crafted look. It couldn't be tidier the day I visited, having the appearance of daily cleaning and attendance. As far as I could tell, not a decorative element was broken or cracked, no sign of being tagged, touched or molested. It looked respected.

While named the House of Sugar, the home itself is only modestly decorated and offered no tours. This leaves the exterior walls and shrines to speak for themselves. As one sign stated, "This House is a Little Piece of Mexico." And a lovely piece at that.

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Posted by Robert on November 16, 2009 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Construction on the Chong Hua Sheng Mu Holy Palace was to be the beginning of a grand complex for spiritual rejuvenation, an oasis of calm within the sprawling suburbs of western Houston. But with the US government preventing the group leader's 2001 return from a trip abroad, all work stopped, without much hope of seeing the Tien Tao temple complex completed.

It has the architectural air of Dr. No meets Wernham-Hogg or Dunder-Miflin. The dramatic gold dome looks perfect for housing a doomsday weapon and twin minarets flank either side, but the construction and materials has all the grace and inspiration of a mundane industrial office tower. The entire property is gated and fenced off, but exploration of the north wall may reveal an accessible entrance. Once on the grounds, visitors to the building will find it buttoned up tight with robust security gates around all the main entrances and side doors. With the project stopped before the interior was started, the inside (apparently) has little to offer. Windows are either blacked out or too high to gaze in on, so the simple bizarreness of the building will have to do. The palace, for an abandoned building, remains surprisingly tidy and seemingly maintained. Grass mowed, parking lot relatively free of garbage and graffiti painted over.

That being said, the rarely trafficked streets and expansive grounds are conducive for relaxation. This island of calm may not be what the religious group had in mind, but it does seem to be a perfect retreat to reflect on spiritual fulfilment and the transient nature of this suburban dream.

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Posted by Robert on November 01, 2008 | Permalink

Not many museums are in the attic of a rather crappy antique mall. The Lunchbox Museum in Columbus, Georgia however is not your usual museum. A massive collection of lunch boxes, lunch trays and even production artwork created to adorn lunch boxes, it's a labor of love. While its home in the attic of the River Market Antiques Mall leaves much to be desired, the sheer number of collectibles will distract from their surroundings.

For this trip, the museum was my only destination. So I saw little of Columbus in getting to the River Market Antiques Mall. After arriving, a quick outside tour of the interesting clutter, which included a folk-art covered hearse, I made my way to the door. At the front entrance I was greeted with a menu of odd museum options for my enjoyment.

"WORLD FAMOUS LUNCH BOXES, Lunch Box Museum, Recognized By The Smithsonian Institute - OVER 2000 BOXES. $5.00 VIEWING FEE
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WORLDS HIGHEST SKYLINE - 280 SQ FT. 27 BUILDINGS OVER 1000 FLOORS - 6.7 SQ MILES IN SQ MILES THIS CITY IS RATED 2ND IN THE NATION!! $2.00 VIEWING FEE PER PERSON - 8 YEARS IN THE MAKING
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MEADERS POTTERY MUSEUM OF SOUTHERN STONEWARE - BY APOINTMENT"

Continue reading "The Lunchbox Museum and Empire City, Columbus, GA" »

Posted by Robert on January 13, 2007 | Permalink

Eddie Izzard once said of Stonehenge "no one's built a henge like that ever since." As far as a Google search can tell me, he never visited Nebraska. This Americanized henge lies in the middle of a field, mostly isolated but with a few houses in view. A recreation of Stonehenge that used monstrous land cruisers that crossed the highways in the 50's, 60's and 70's as megaliths make up the monument. Cadillacs, Fords and Chevys all have been used, stuck in the earth and painted grey. Creator Jim Reinders was influenced by his time in England, and his automotive monument was built as a memorial to his father on the family's farmland.

The small, nearby town of Alliance has little to see and only a few places to stay, so a visit takes planning. Carhenge signs can be found before coming into town, but missing them can mean incomplete direction, and for us a turn took us far off course. Take care in planning your route. Once there you will find the site has an abandoned and boarded up visitor center and a message board covered with broken plexiglas and faded newspaper articles. Besides the main monument, additional sculptures include a large fish made from car parts, a representation of Summer/Fall/Winter/Spring in the "Ford Seasons", and a car for signing your name, the "Autograph."

But the main purpose for visiting is is to walk the well-worn foot trails that lead to Carhenge. Dragging a pile of large rock many miles made sense to the Druids but here in the states we make our monuments mobile, until they are parked for all time.

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Posted by Robert on November 30, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (1)

The small town of Elberton, Georgia's main claim is that it is the "Granite Capital of the World". While that claim may be disputed by other international granite producers, the town does have a quaint museum dedicated to the stone that made the town and one of the most bizarre monuments ever raised. More on that in a moment.

While driving to Elberton (assuming you don't live there already), the closer communities are to the town the more likely you are to see granite signs (not the typical metal ones). People in these parts like their granite and use it for village and business names and even street numbers for private home owners.

Once you get there the Elberton Granite Museum & Exhibit is pretty easy to spot, with the biggest granite sign, of course. The museum's industrial building is home to a collection of quarry equipment, funky sculptures, examples of etched gravestones, and an old man at the desk. Pleased to have some company, he fired up the educational video that we watched while strolling the exhibits. There is something charming about the museum's genuine enthusiasm about what to most would be a mundane subject. Which leads to the most interesting granite exhibit, the model and material about the Georgia Guidestones.

Continue reading "The Elberton Granite Museum & The Georgia Guidestones, Georgia" »

Posted by Robert on September 06, 2006 | Permalink | Comments (2)