The Beer-Can House of Houston, Texas

[Indra Chopra]

 

Hansel & Gretel’s Chocolate house* turned into steel.....a delectable piece of ingenuity spawned by boredom....or a prime example of energy saving-recycling kitsch. John Milkovisch, a retired upholsterer for the Southern Pacific Railroad, took nearly 18 years to flatten nearly 50,000 beer cans of varied brands, using the lids and the pull tabs and teamed them with marbles, rocks, metal pieces and glass bottles to leave, as he himself said, something to be remembered by.

He did drink all the beer first, aided by wife and friends. The Coors cans were used for spin-offs and Texas Pride and other lite beers as wall embossers.  

John started with the garden, saved himself from mowing it, and then moved on to the exterior. The interior was bland, not much fizz, and we were the sole visitors on this particular day. The chiming pull-tab curtains in the backyard add some variation to this house in the quiet neighborhood of Malone, Houston.  

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*The Beer Can House was acquired by the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art after the deaths of John Milkovisch and his wife, Mary 

* Grimm’s Fairy Tales

* Directions:

From I-45, just south of the intersection of I-10, take the Memorial Drive exit. Then head west for a mile and pass North Shepherd Drive exit. Turn right on Malone St. The Beer Can House is two blocks north, on the right.

*Admission:  $ 2 entrance, Guided Tours with house exhibition $ 5.

Self-guided tours are available at Gift Shop.

The Beer Can House is open Saturdays & Sundays, Noon – 5 pm