Cathedral of Junk — Attraction in Austin

A different way to spend an hour in Austin that isn’t eating tacos or drinking. Definitely a sight to behold, and a cool feat of human tinkering. Minus a star for the seeming reluctance of the artist/owner to acknowledge the level of notoriety this exhibit has reached, and not yet setting up a simple website, or even just adding a few pertinent details on the google maps listing. Unless you read through multiple reviews, you wouldn’t know until arrival that the structure is located in the artist’s backyard, in a residential neighborhood. There is a faded hand-scrawled note on an old drum in the front yard that says “By Appointment Only” - extremely easy to miss. Luckily the owner was out attending to other guests when we arrived, so we apologized for showing up unannounced (though we had tried calling multiple times during our short 3-day trip and there was never an answer nor a machine message saying not to show up without a confirmed appointment) and paid a $5 donation before entering his back yard, where the structure is. The artist is a unique person, and has a way of speaking that can come off as pretty rude or blunt. It’s understandable: he views it as allowing random strangers to show up at any time and tour his backyard for a small donation. And as an outsider/visitor/google map peruser who stumbled across this “outdoor art gallery” listing with no website or hours or other info, I viewed it as this dude being a bit brash in his tone when you think you’re simply arriving to look at some public art. All this to say, I see both sides, and just think it would serve him (and purveyors of local art & culture) well to set some viewing hours, and a simple website link with an appointment plugin. So that’s my suggestion, and reason for docking 1 star. Other than that, yes it was cool & you’ll probably enjoy it. (And hey if you’re not super sensitive like me, you won’t get hurt feelings from his tone and you’ll...

Well, I didn't actually get to SEE this place, but that's because I did not look at the reviews. Online, when you look up "Things to do in Austin", the Cathedral of Junk comes up on some of the websites. So now you're thinking "Cool, this place looks rad. Let's go!" And what those websites don't tell you is that this is actually located IN SOMEONES BACKYARD. We all assumed it was in a public area because none of the photos used show signs of anyones house. You can imagine our surprise when we drive to the address and it's in some neighborhood and we are now parked creepily in front of some random person's house trying to see what's going on.

We do more digging online, and find the owner's phone number. We call him and it goes to voicemail, but this poor man has absolutely been bothered by many people like us as his voicemail said something along the lines of "Hey, so you're probably in front of my house thinking what's going on, but you need to make an appointment to come see. I don't know what the websites are saying online but it's not true." And it was absolutely hilarious because it was the exact situation we were in. We admired the front of his house and left.

Make sure you call him and make an appointment! Don't be like us. Dude probably gets bothered on a daily basis trying to explain this to people.

Have fun and...

Free to enter, but contact the artist to reserve a time beforehand!

This amazing sculpture has been built over many years in the backyard of the artist, who was happy to chat with us about its interesting history. (And about his dogs who were all very cute and friendly and hanging around the backyard.) He is kind enough to let visitors onto his property to experience this incredible piece of art, so please respect him and his work, as well as any rules he lays out for visiting the Cathedral!

The sculpture has many tunnels and levels you can explore, and even has a slide in the back! Near the entrance is a donation box (please bring cash for a tip!) and a shed with written information on the history of the sculpture, including the city's attempt to have it destroyed, how it was saved, its appearance in one of the Spy Kids movies, and even pictures of a wedding that was held inside the structure. A really one-of-a-kind treat that embodies much of what makes Austin so awesome.

Thank you so much to the Junk King for letting us experience the Cathedral of Junk, and best of luck in your future artistic...