The Montrose Paint Wall is beautiful! It is currently painted outside a vintage thrift store. It's…read morea great mural spot and place for pictures!

Fun little slice of local flavor located on the side of Out of the Closet. Great for photo ops, but…read moreharsh sun in the mid afternoon!

TOLERANCE Unity in…read moreDiversity Reflecting the Pluralism & Harmony of Mankind Seven Figures Representing the Seven Continents Each Created from Nine Alphabets by Jaume Plensa Take walk to visit the seven abstract human statues sitting on seven rocks hand-picked by Jaume Plensa and imported from Spain. Plensa is one of my favorite artists with his unique style. (He also created the Crown Fountain in Chicago.) The aluminum letters are beautifully welded together to unite the languages that each letter represents. This is so characteristic of Jaume Plensa's work but has another, and even more important, meaning. In Memory of David Ritcheson and All Those Who Are Victims of Intolerance. Who was David Ritcheson? David Ritcheson was a victim of a brutal hate crime. He was brutally beaten, burned, kicked, sodomized and left for dead after his attackers covered his face and body in bleach. He survived that day and endured more than 30 surgeries to repair the physical damages inflicted upon him. The psychological trauma of such a devasting adverse childhood event at the age of 16 is incomprehensible and heartbreaking. He later testified before Congress to try to encourage the passage of stronger legislation for hate crimes. "I appear before you as a survivor," Ritcheson told members of Congress. "I am here before you today asking that our government take the lead in deterring individuals like those who attacked me from committing unthinkable and violent crimes against others because of where they are from, the color of their skin, the God they worship, the person they love, or the way they look, talk or act." Three months later, he committed suicide while on a vacation by jumping off a cruise boat. He was just 18. If you know someone that has been a victim of a hate crime, take a stand. Speak out. Racism. Discrimination. Bullying. Antisemitism. Xenophobia. These don't belong in our, or any, community. Hate crimes as well as feelings of isolation definitely increased for many during the pandemic. For those who maybe contemplating suicide or if you know someone who maybe considering suicide, call 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. I hope that this year is filled with more tolerance, more kindness and more acceptance of the diversity that makes our community so rich. Review 1/2023.

I wanted to visit this outdoor art exhibit at night when I saw a post on Instagram about it. I read…read morethe background behind these statues prior to coming here. The artist, Jaume Plensa, made 7 kneeling statues (representing 7 continents) out of metal. When looking closeup, the design of the statues consisted of various interlocking letters and numbers from different languages that came together as one piece. This project was actually sparked by a brutal hate crime that caused David Ritcheson to commit suicide just one year after the crime. The art piece was created by Jaume Plensa to show tolerance of different cultures and the diversity of our city. These illuminated statues are located on the northeast corner of Montrose and Allen parkway. You can't miss them. It was somewhat difficult to find parking nearby. There's a parking lot along Allen parkway that's about a 10 minute walk from the statues. If you find street parking closer than that, you're lucky. Just be sure to bring mosquito repellent to avoid getting bitten to death. This was definitely an outdoor art piece worth checking out in Houston.

Pretty cool new art piece in 5th ward. In October 2011, the Fifth Ward Jam was completed and became…read morea fixture in a small public park. Dan Havel and Dean Ruck created a similar piece that I saw years ago on Montrose called Inversion. Now, they've got another, but this one adds a little something extra to the neighborhood, a performance venue. Fifth Ward Jam is an old building, twisted as if it has been in a crazy tornado, but with a stage in the front for local music and other performances. I love that this is art but not static art... it will add to the neighborhood and hopefully be embraced as a place to gather. It's a pretty cool structure, but the park is front of it needs a little TLC. I hope to see the community embrace the space and help spruce up the green space. As we were leaving, another car pulled up and it was an older woman with 4 young children. They all got out and ran over to the structure. I guess everyone wants a little look at it. You should head on over (during daylight hours) and see it for yourself. You may even be lucky enough to catch a performance.

I stumbled upon this little park and art piece after being diverted on a detour when I-10 was…read moreclosed at 59. As I drove by, I had to make a split second decision - risk getting mugged and check out this intricate art piece or keep on driving. I took a chance, parked my car, and walked towards the wooden structure. Very cool to look at and take a picture of. It reminds me of the Montrose Funnel Tunnel (Google it if you haven't seen it!). The park itself isn't a place I would take my little cousin to play at. It's very small and the area itself still feels a bit sketchy, even though it's probably perfectly fine. I'll have to give it some time though since I have been scammed around this area years before. Overall, if you are around the area, check out this cool piece of art!

The Great Elephant Migration…read more Amazing to find an installation of 100 pachyderms made of an invasive weed. India is finding a way for both society and animals to not only coexist and survive, but thrive together. In the last three decades, the population has doubled in India, but that is also true for many animals. Remarkably, the population of elephants, rhinos, lions and tigers has also doubled. The elephants in this migration are made of lantana camara. Lantana camara is an invasive weed. A creative use of something invasive to create community unity, teach others about elephants and clear the weeds to make more room for the elephants to roam while making something so impressive and educational. Find the herd at Hermann Park. But only until April 30.

Thank you to my elite family Helene & Justin of reminding me about this event, & for your…read moreinformative review. An absolutely stunning display! The Great Elephant Migration is more than just an art exhibit; it's an experience. The sight of these incredible, life-size elephants gathered together is breathtaking. The craftsmanship is remarkable. It sparks a sense of wonder and is a great way to connect with art and nature. A true gem in Houston! Great free public art! The Great Elephant Migration is well worth a visit. Located in Hermann Park, it's easy to access and a wonderful way to spend some time outdoors . The elephant sculptures are impressive, and it's a great conversation starter about art and conservation. Be sure to bring your camera!

The Dancer is a cast bronze sculpture of a graceful female dancer. She was created by Marcello…read moreMascherini in the 1950s and donated to the City of Houston. Find her today at Jones Hall.

Oh what a tangled Webster we weave…read more Webster is Suburban Paradise which has temperatures like a tropical swampland, which is a little hard to bear, especially in the summer. Not very diverse - but it does happen to have one of the best Boba shops in the universe here, and some pretty good Vietnamese food as well. Go to Cha Boba, while here - and try the Okinawa and the Hawaii Butterfly. Also, there's Spring Roll Express, which has off the charts spring rolls and banh mi.

I was estimating this place to be roughly around the value of Lindale but it turned out to be worth…read morea little north of that. This is a cute neighbourhood on the Northside of Houston. It was a little run down and very low income for a long time, but lately it has become a little bit more spruced up and is even bordering on hipster now that it's becoming swallowed up by the expensive and rapidly expanding Heights. I probably liked it better in some ways before, but it's still a nice neighbourhood to live in and it's still very affordable.

Thank you to yelp and boba & broth for this elite week event! For this event we got a small banh…read moremi plus a choice of 1/5 complimentary drinks. The staff member at the front was very friendly and walked me through all options. I got Japanese's brown rice milk tea with boba added and a tofu banh mi. The banh mi was delicious with toasted bread and a creamy sauce that went well with the tofu and veggie filling. The milk tea was also unique and tasty. I haven't seen that flavor available at other boba shops. My boba drink came out quickly but the banh mi did take some time to come out. ~15 minutes The inside is large and there is a large parking lot out front

TLDR; nice sample of boba and half a bahn mi in an interesting vibe…read more We were given a choice of a several drinks, which were pretty good. The staff were friendly and walked us through our options. We got the bahn mi sampler, which was half of a bahn mi inspired sandwhich. It wasn't traditional, lacking the foundational pate, or bright flavors of fresh jalapenos but was still pretty good. I can understand catering to less initiated palate. The baguette was soft and slightly crispy on the outside. It seems their thing is the "broth" different asian soups paired with different asian noodles, however we didn't get to try any of that. The vibe caters to a specific anime/manga crowd. If you're into anime/manga sticker collages, then this feels like your hang out spot. There were a handful of vendors with their booths lining the walls. It wasn't clear if this was a unique event, but it seemed like this was a regular occurrence.