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Adickes SculpturWorx Studio
Category: Arts & Entertainment Art Galleries Shopping Art Galleries Art Galleries [Edit]
2500 Summer StHouston, TX 77246
Neighborhood: The Heights
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- No
- Parking:
- Street
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
17 reviews for Adickes SculpturWorx Studio
17 reviews in English
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Review from David B.
Mont Belvieu, TX
11/28/2011
David Adickes Sculpturworx was one of the coolest place in Houston,Tx that I have ever been!!! I always see the sculptures off of I-10 near downtown!!!!This is located Sawyer and Summer, this is between I-10 and Washington Ave. After, go to Sawyer Park and have a GREAT time!!!
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Review from Melissa M.
Sugar Land, TX
Awesome! Where else can you see super cool huge sculptures for free?! This is the artist's storage and workspace, but the gate is open and you can head on in and take a look and some photos.
I had never heard of or been here before. Like many Houstonians, I have seen the large white President sculptures on the side of the road off of 288. I didn't realize that the artist was a local Houstonian and that he had a workspace with awesome other sculptures.
Out of town guests sent us searching for something interesting to see and do. We went here in the hopes of seeing the "We heart Houston" sculpture. We got there at 8pm and were pleased to see the lot was open and we drove right on in. You can only get up close and personal to the "We heart Houston" sculpture and a few Presidents (Lincoln, Obama, Bush Sr, and Jackson). Most of the other presidents and the Beatles sculptures are behind a locked gate. You can still see them easily.
This place is awesome. You can stop by and take some seriously memorable photos and just appreciate the sculptures. Love it!Listed in: Houston Art, The Out of Towners
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Review from Pam B.
3/6/2011 5 photos
Hahahaha! I love this place!!!!! I must send a huge shout out to all the wonderful yelpers who not only wrote about Adickes SculpturWorx Studios but took great pics, without them in a million years I would've never found this gem of Houston.
This place to me is almost like one of those strange roadside attractions you would seek out while on a road-trip, but cooler and more artistic. It's just so weird....a bunch of presidential heads with The Beatles, LOVE IT! I mean, really, thats it. Don't go expecting anything more. Another thing to realize is that the majority of sculptures are behind a barbed wire chain link fence, I got up on my husbands shoulders to take most of my pictures.
There is just something cool/funky/fun that draws me in to Adickes SculpturWorx Studios. I really appreciate all the art and I dig the fact that the artist doesn't mind me poking around his gallery of gigantic presidential heads. I'll totally be back to this place. -
Review from Edgar V.
12/7/2009 4 Check-ins Here
Are you flummoxed for ideas on where to take out-of-town relatives when they come a calling? Well, take them here - and the nearby Glenwood Cemetery - and you'll leave them with a positive if quirky opinion of the Bayou City.
My parents are hosting two of my many aunties - one from each coast. For the sake of simplicity, I'll assign them gang names: "Blood" for the East Coast one and "Crips" for the West Coast one. Auntie Blood is the more gregarious of the two and works in the nation's capital for a major political party. Auntie Crips is more reserved and is a spitting image of my grandmother - when I picked her up at the airport, it wasn't hard to figure out who she was even after not seeing her for over 20 years.
Hidden almost in plain sight, this studio is just a skip away from the Sawyer Heights Target. On a gloomy Sunday, we rolled up to the lot after spying the latest addition (Barack Obama) facing us through the open driveway gate. Arrayed behind the chain link fence was a parade of other Presidents and we made a fun game of trying to identify the (mostly) dead white men while the Fab Four watched over the whole area from the back.
We easily identified Washington, LBJ, Reagan, Nixon, Truman, George Bush (the younger), Teddy Roosevelt, Andrew Johnson, Eisenhower, and Clinton. Notably missing were Lincoln, Jefferson, and FDR: Where the heck did they run off to? Andrew Jackson was reduced to just his head and positioned to watch you drive out.
Auntie Blood gasped at seeing one of her icons* - and the rest of the afternoon was spent wondering how these oversized statues compared to Mount Rushmore as we headed off to Glenwood and the Byzantine Fresco chapel at the University of St. Thomas. While I wouldn't plan a trip to Houston just to see these statues, they make a good stop in an afternoon chain of stops.
* I'm not telling who her icon was since you may not feel the same love - and then Auntie Blood would have to call on her gang to cut you.Listed in: A Cure for Tourists Syndrome
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Review from Adam O.
Houston, TX
This place somehow is the coolest... and creepiest place in Houston, and really is a must see!
I know other people have found this and made their way out there... but my sister was driving by the Target one day and all of a sudden slammed on her brakes because she thought she saw a HUGE George Bush... She reversed (safely I hope since this was a real street) and sure enough, she was right.
She took me there the next time we went to Target, and WOW... there are HUGE busts of all of the Presidents, and enormous statues of The Beatles!
Honestly, you just have to go see it... My description just isn't doing it justice.
Oh, and apparently they are trying to maybe make a park in Pearland for all of the Presidential Busts.Listed in: ROTD's for me, Quirky Houston
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Review from Gretchen P.
Houston, TX
9/28/2008 5 photos
I am transfixed by Adickes' Sculptureworks. Not just the specific sculptures, but the entire space. The sculptures, the artist studios (love the windows on these old industrial buildings), and the open access to wonder through the outdoor storage area of statues. It may seem like you shouldn't, but you are able to drive (slowly) past the gate. Park your car to the right and wonder through the sculptures. Don't be shy; oogle, loathe, and take pictures.
I first found out about the studio in an article in a local periodical over a year ago. The article was about a set of presidential heads (with pictures) that were going to be placed in a park/future roadside attraction in Pearland, off of 288. It went on to talk about David Adickes and other statues he had placed on I-45 (Stephen F Austin, 72' in Brazoria County and Sam Houston, 67' in Huntsville), downtown Houston (the cellists with the faces), and in two other Presidential parks in the US (South Dakota near Mount Rushmore and Williamsburg, VA.) In fact, the park in South Dakota's JFK head was featured on the last issue of Life magazine.
It went on to explain that housed at his studio in Houston was the third set of all 42 presidential heads. Yes, we've technically had 43 presidents, but since Cleveland is president #22 and #24, there are only 42 heads. It also mentioned another sculpture he had just completed: The Beatles. In full Magical Mystery Tour regalia.
I could only think: who is this artist I'd never paid attention to and where is this studio.
Over the course of the following month, I'd forgotten. That is, until I drove to Target on Taylor. Driving down the street between the back of his studio and the Target parking lot, staring at the 36' tall Beatles, I slammed on my brakes. I realized that my car was still going forward while I was staring out of my driver's side window.
This is one of those places for me, like Glenwood Cemetery, that I can drive past twenty or thirty times and not really think about. Then one day, I'll have an out of left field urge to turn in and enjoy. If you have never been, I highly encourage you to check this place out.
Only words of caution, Paulie (that would be Paul McCartney) was injured by Ike (the hurricane, not the cement presidential head). You can still see him, but he's laying down, with a tarp over him.
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3/12/09-I didn't want to write a "update," just wanted to add that Paulie is walking again. Standing really. He also has a scar around his neck. Fie on you, Ike!Listed in: Getting to know Houston
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Review from David N.
12/26/2009 4 photos
So after reading that Edgar took out of towners here and then reading the very informative review from Gretchen I knew this was a place to check out.
I've had it bookmarked for awhile but lately I was trying to finish out the museum district before moving outward.
I sure am glad I finally was able to check this area out. As I drove up the gate was open. It literally looks like some abandon warehouses but that's the place you are looking for.
I parked on the right and started to wander around. The gate seemed locked and no one was really around to ask questions so I just took the time to walk and take pictures at will.
This stuff is awesome. I saw some of these heads on my way to pearland awhile back and didn't know the history behind it. I am glad these heads will be reunited somewhere.
While I was here I saw that he has just finished a new Obama.Listed in: Houston: Local Flavor
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Review from Elizabeth M.
Houston, TX
3/5/2010 2 photos
Well, um, GIANT PRESIDENTIAL HEADS. What the... indeed a great place to take visiting family- and make sure they bring the cameras.
When we hiked over there on a sunny Saturday afternoon we were not allowed into the area with most of the presidential statues in it- the gate was locked, with barbed wire up around it. Only three were outside of the gates- Andrew Jackson's head, Teddy Roosevelt, and George H.W. Bush. Of those would could clearly see over the fence, most had clear marks dividing the heads from the torsos, as if either the heads had broke off and were reattached, or the heads are attached to the sculptures last.
Unrelated to the neck cracks, I'm guessing someone spoiled access to the statues for the rest of us with vandalism- unless I'm wrong about the gates having always been locked. No matter, we could see fairly well.
We had great fun hamming it up around the presidents and pointing out our favorites. My in-laws particularly admired that each of the presidents' torsos was dressed in period appropriate clothing, and they were interesting from an historical perspective.
A definite must-see, part of the local color of Houston to be sure! -
Review from Helen C.
Honolulu, HI
5/8/2008 1 photo
I absolutely adore this place! I have taken more photos here than anywhere else in my life, bar none. Seriously.
David Adickes is this darling 82-year-old man who has been making huuuge presidential (and other important Texans') busts for years. He apparently made a bunch of money through real estate in his earlier years and decided he wanted to be an artist... creating huge sculptures of dead old (famous) men! So now that's what he does.
He has an impressive collection at his studio -- for a while, he had most of the presidents there! I took pictures with some of my personal faves: Lincoln, Jefferson and Clinton. But I think they might be moving some of these busts out, as he's got a bunch of them going to Pearland this year to go on display. (They're building a presidential park and a small body of water next to it, I believe.)
The studio also has sculptures of the following: a huge telephone, the Beatles and larger-than-life-sized legs in high heels. Ever so often, you'll see David come in to work (I saw him once, and he let my friend and I come in to see all his works-in-progress. It was a-ma-zing. He's working on several pieces now, including some Texan pieces.). It was interesting watching him make his small models out of clay first. He explained he then presents it to a team of guys who put together the big busts. (These sculptures are incredibly life-like, down to the most minute detail!)
Have you seen the big Sam Houston statue near Huntsville? He did it. I think he's doing a Texas Ranger statue somewhere soon, and if you look at the intersection of 45 and I-10, you'll see four of his busts there too. And there's a statue of a lady right near the ExxonMobil building downtown -- that's his ex-girlfriend, who used to be a Playboy model.
He's got two presidential parks with all the presidents -- one near Mt. Rushmore and the other one in Williamsburg, VA.
All this to say... he's amazing! When we met David, he invited us to his birthday party, so of course we had to go! What we found out was... he can freakin' play the clarinet (Appropriately, he played "In My Life" by the Beatles.) There were light bites and Franzia (so classy!)and Bud to boot. They also served some really delish cupcakes for his birthday (German chocolate cake, anyone?!), and he was so cute and gracious. (And he told my friend and I that he may be 82, but he still likes girls! ;))
Go check this place out! It won't disappoint. -
Review from Melissa C.
Houston, TX
12/13/2007
I agree that this is a must see in Houston!! Some friends and I had heard about the President's heads and set out on an adventure to find them. And we indeed found them... and enjoyed walking around looking at them and yes, taking our pictures with them. They seem to be in an odd area - once you go, you'll know what I'm talking about but they are fairly easy to find.
A coworker sent me an article that was on http://chron.com about the President's heads being moved to Pearland.
Go check them out!! You'll be amazed! -
Review from Michelle V.
Houston, TX
10/6/2009
Pretty cool. You can drop by any time during business hours to view the giant sculptures. When we visited, the studio was open. I assume the artist wasn't there, but his assistants let us roam around the studio and take as many photos as we wanted of the different works in progress.
Takes about 15 minutes total, and it's free. -
Review from Jade F.
Austin, TX
4/17/2011
I just got back from a business trip to Houston and wanted something different this time. Granted Houston has a lot of amazing places in the art and museum district. If you looking for something a little different off the beaten path then you should check this place out. All of the sculpture are just out and about for you to walk around and take a gander. The presidents heads standing that tall were amazing (some scary). The best moment for me was seeing all The Beatles as big as they feel, rocking it out together!!! It's also right across from a rice factory, so the whole area smells of yummy buttered rice.
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Review from Kirsten A.
Richmond, TX
4/6/2010 2 photos
This place is awesome. I only wish that the gates were open and we could actually walk by and stand next to the giant heads and Beatles statues.
It's definitely an interesting part of Houston that everyone should check out before grabbing lunch nearby. Don't forget to stop by the four heads that you can see from the 45, because those you can actually walk up to and touch! Just take Summer St. East to Holly and make a left and keep going. At least, I THINK that's how I remember getting there. -
Review from Pooja K.
Washington, DC
1/2/2010
If you're looking to check out some funky things around Houston this is definitely a must see!
It's in sort of a secluded/random area and there's a lot next to a big warehouse and then you see the huge heads.
This is really really cool and I'm about to go to do some research on these sculptures but some of them are just amazing: Andrew Jackson, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, Ike and so many other awesome ones.
The Obama sculpture doesn't look as close to his real face as it could but I feel that way about a lot of attempts to draw/sculpt Obama.
I didn't see all of the presidents and I'm assuming some of them are elsewhere, but go check this place out!!! -
Review from LAWJISTIK -.
Houston, TX
8/15/2008
We went to a couple of parties @ this warehouse...there were giant president heads one time then a giant set of the beatles.
Update: I heard "Paul" got decapitated during Ike -
Review from Ricardo C.
Matthews, NC
1/23/2011
Yes, Its all there. Awesome. Stubled on to this place on my way to the airport via Target. I almost missed my connection because I was admiring this hidden little National Treasure.
And don't forget about The Beatles. They rock too!
It's Free! -
Review from Ryan S.
8/10/2010 3 Check-ins Here
Giant president head sculptures?? Hell friggin yeah! This is a cool place to swing on by, whether you are a long-time resident, newbie, or a visitor. Park the car, do a loop, see how many you can name, take lots of pics. I really liked the Beatles in the back and the huge Houston sign. Great stop! Now I've gotta check out this Glenwood Cemetery...
Listed in: Houston Visitor's Guide
