We’ve seen a lot of beautiful and unique places here this week in Houston, but this house may be at the top of the list for creativity and dedication.
Let’s introduce you to The Beer Can House.
It’s an iconic house and it says Houston all over it.
What started as a normal house on Malone Street in Houston has turned into an aluminum masterpiece.
Que Byers, Supervising Docent for Orange Show Center/Beer Can House, talks about John Milkovisch. He started starting decorating his yard and house with marbles, rocks and beer cans in 1968. “The house gave him an opportunity to be as creative as he could. He basically started out one Saturday on a weekend tending to the grounds outside, and that one weekend turned into a 20 years period.”
She says he would go to sleep every night and consider what his plans were for the next day.
Covered in flattened cans, can streamers, glass bottles and pop tops, it’s estimated to contain around 50,000 beer cans in all.
Que shared that John didn’t have a favorite beer and so he would just drink whatever was cheap. All 50,000 cans were drank by John with the help of his wife Mary and their neighbors from time to time.
They told me John’s wife Mary said he just didn’t want to mow the lawn anymore, so his solution was covering it up with rocks and marbles, and when that was done, he turned to the house and never looked back.
The House is now owned by the Orange Show Center of Visionary Arts and has become a must-see attraction for Houstonians and visitors alike.
Scott Itzel, who lives in Houston, says, “You hear the wind blowing and the cans rattling so, it’s awesome.”
Other visitors comment, “Its really cool.”, “Never seen anything like it.”, “It’s a piece of art.”
Everyone who comes here walks up just looking at a house covered in beer cans, but walks away with so much more.
Que Byers says, “I feel like they take away a sense of understanding. They take away a sense of creativity.”
They also leave their mark in the Visitors Center, which had a map showing guest marks from as far away as Europe, Australia, and Madagascar.
