Cathedral of Junk

Photo by Karl M

Photo by Misti W

There's no rhyme or reason to this creation; the Cathedral of Junk sprang to life in the backyard of its architect, Vince Hannemann, who started building it in 1988, and over the years, he's been adding to a pile of miscellaneous junk using scrap parts, old wheels, pipes and anything else people dropped off for contribution. Nowadays, the Cathedral of Junk looks like the enormous club house you always wanted as a kid, complete with secret rooms, a tower, winding stairs, old toys, crutches, altars and--like any proper Cathedral--a "throne room." You can call ahead to make an appointment to visit or just drop in. If Hannenmann is home, he'll walk you through the entire structure, as he's passionate and excited to share this community work of art with visitors. The Cathedral of Junk is a monument just weird enough for Austin; something you really need to see to believe.

There's no fee to get in, but the Catherdral does take donations.