In Deference to my Idols

I didn't get to see much of Houston while I was down there. Saturday's transportation was awful; I've covered that. Sunday was unpacking at the camp site and dinner of good Mexican food.

From there, the days went pretty much like this: breakfast at the hotel, to camp by 7:20am, away from camp at 7 or 8pm, quick dinner near the hotel (all chain restaurants, meh), sleep, repeat.

On Friday evening, after the camp was wrapped up and packed away, however, we at least go dinner at someplace interesting, the Houston Aquarium (quick review: kid friendly, decent if overpriced food, neat fish tank surroundings).

On the way back from the aquarium, however, there was a bit of getting lost. At the end, however, I was happy we got lost because we passed one of the neatest things I saw in all of Houston: A Tribute to American Statesmanship.

The series of four busts - George Washington, Abe Lincoln, Sam Houston, and Stephen F Austin - is located just next to I-10 and has apparently been nicknamed Mount Rush Hour (I chuckle, seriously).

In searching for a bit of information about this wacked out set of statues - and especially about their location in a bit of a weird neighborhood - I found the following bits of info...

• The statues are really big - 22ft high and a combined 60ft wide. (Source)
• The statues are lit up at night. (Source w/ photo)
• They're in a rough neighborhood. (Source w/ photo)
• David Adickes, the sculptor,works in really big concrete statuary. (Source w/ photos)
• These are only a few of the presidential busts that Adickes has made. Check the two Presidents Parks where his work can be seen.
• Apparently there was supposed to be a third Presidential Park in Pearland, TX (a Houston suburb), but financing fell through.
• Kids can get right up and touch the presidents. (Source w/ photo)
• Google's StreetView blurred the presidents' faces. (Source w/ photo)
• They're technically at the corner of Bingham & Elder in Houston, TX. (Google Maps link)
• The statues weren't there when Bing took some of its aerial view photos. Rotate 'em around to see them from two of the four directions. (Bing maps link)
• People have done some weird photo paintings of the statues. (Source w/ aforementioned photo paintings)
• It's at the intersection of I-10 and I-45. (Source)

Wacky stuff...

Photo credits...up top...with the yellow truck...down low...