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Houston's Orange Show Monument
by Masadio Caliente
http://www.freshhouston.com
The Orange Show Monument, located in the Heights
neighborhood of Houston, uses castaway materials to
entertain visitors and pay tribute to creator Jeff
McCissack's favorite food, the orange.
Jeff McCissack, a Houston postal carrier, built the
monument between 1956 and 1979 without outside help.
Land that was originally purchased to house a worm farm
became a landmark piece of architecture that he believed
would be visited by numbers rivaling those boasted by
the Houston Astrodome. Turns out that not too many people
were interested; only 150 showed for the grand opening.
After McCissack's death in 1980, a foundation was formed
to purchase the property from his heir and preserve this
prime example of a folk art environment.
You can tour the monument every weekend afternoon from
mid-March to mid-December. Midday hours are kept
Wednesdays through Fridays from Memorial Day until Labor
Day.
You'll first see that the monument is a conglomeration
of many different building materials formed into a
multi-tiered maze.
As you tour, you'll see numerous sculptures and murals
fashioned from junk to accompany a number of bromides
extolling the virtues of hard work, good eating, and
oranges.
Cultural events happen almost every weekend in the
monument's tractor-seat amphitheater. Here, you can
view poetry readings, folk music concerts, and lectures
on folk arts and artists. Also worth checking out are
the pond, the oasis, and the wishing well.
No good tourist attraction would be complete without a gift
shop. And, if you don't get a souvenir there, how are you
ever going to explain this place to your friends?
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