More Outsider Art: The Orange Show

Right down the street in Houston from Smither Park is The Orange Show Monument. The center is a folk-art environment - a monumental work of handmade architecture - located in Houston's East End. It was built single handedly from 1956 until its completion in 1979, by the late Jefferson Davis McKissack, a Houston postal worker.

The outdoor 3,000 square foot environment is maze-like in design and includes an oasis, a wishing well, a pond, a stage, a museum, a gift shop, and several upper decks. It is constructed of concrete, brick, steel and found objects including gears, tiles, wagon wheels, mannequins, tractor seats and statuettes. Each piece of the Orange Show Monument was hand-placed and hand-painted by McKissack.