Day Trips: Houston Temple, Houston: Intricate wooden temple goes up in smoke in November – Columns

photos by Gerald E. McLeod

Houston Temple looks oddly out of place in the parking lot of a warehouse about 4 miles southeast of downtown Houston. This intricate work of art will only be there until November, when it will be set on fire in memory of deceased loved ones.

Looking like an Asian pagoda, the temple has a rocket-shaped spire rising 35 feet above the gravel. The structure was designed by the artist David Bestwho built nine temporary temples in burning man festival in the Nevada desert.

Looking a bit like a 3D wooden model, the structure is a series of swirls, waves and circles made from reclaimed scrap wood. Hidden lights illuminate the elaborate trellis as the sun sets, giving the non-religious building a spiritual appearance.

Best built the temple partly in remembrance of his friends, artists and patrons. Ann Harithas and his partner Jesse Lottwho co-founded Houston Automotive Museum of Art. Both died recently. Among his many artistic projects around the world, Best built a temple to honor the victims of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School filming in Florida. This is his first temple in Texas.

Visitors are invited to write memorials on wooden squares provided to honor their deceased loved ones. The burning of the temple is intended to send the messages to the spirit world and to be cathartic for the sender. Those who cannot visit Houston can add memories in an online form. These messages will be included in the public burning in November.

The Houston Temple is open free on Thursdays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the parking lot behind Smither Park and the Orange Show Visionary Art Center, which is currently closed for restoration. The temple will be burned in a public ceremony on November 9. For more details and to RSVP, visit www.full.orangeshow.org/davidbest.

1,706th in a series. Everywhere there’s a day trip from somewhere: follow “Day Trips & Beyond,” a travel blog, at austinchronicle.com/daily/travel.