Cathedral Of Junk: Most Exciting 'Garbage Heap' In Austin

The Cathedral of Junk is a 60-ton abstract art structure mostly built of metallic junk by nondescript and accidental artist Vince Hannemann in his backyard at a working-class suburb in South Austin Texas. This 33-feet junk structure along 4422 Lareina Drive is perhaps Austin's quirkiest and most bizarre art attraction. The Cathedral of Junk is nestled among lush trees and subtropical Texas vegetation in Hannemann's backyard.

It is a melting point of modern parts and relics of technologies of the bygone era which helps the tourists relive the past. Since it's made from different items it has many colors too. Like his art, the owner is an artistic eccentric, and fingers on both his hands are tattooed with the name "'junk king" which is his nickname in Austin. The Cathedral of Junk and Hannemann personifies the slogan of Keep Austin Weird.

Cathedral of Junk: Structure

Some items, Hannemann used to build the Cathedral of Junk include tennis rackets, helmets, car license plates, doors, tires, mirrors, wires, utensils, metal barriers and scaffolding, a statue of liberty replica, toilet, a loudspeaker, metal bars, toilet bowl, old couch, bicycle rims, tires, a speed limit, road signs, and other random junk. At night it is lit up with different colored neon lights and junk items in it that still work like neon signs and clocks. The electric power cables are cleverly camouflaged in the Cathedral of Junk intricate artistic maze.

Cathedral of Junk: Interesting Facts

The most astonishing fact about the three-story Cathedral of Junk is that this towering structure is not welded together. When tourists are inside it the raised ceiling makes it feel bigger than it is. According to Hannemann, he used MacGyver's improvisation ingenuity to join together this towering and puzzling structure of art like a bird's nest. To preserve it he ensures the structure doesn't have hollow items that retain water when it's wet.

Cathedral of Junk: The Artist's Motives

Though he created the Cathedral of Junk, Hannemann lets tourists use their artistic senses to interpret this art structure by themselves and not do it himself. For him, the Cathedral of Junk is his way to have fun and indulge his artistic fantasies randomly. The greatest compliment he gets from the Cathedral of Junk masterpiece is when kids cry and are reluctant to leave after the visiting time is over.

The eccentric Hannemann started building the Cathedral of Junk in 1989 in his mid-twenties as a random hobby with every kind of junk he could find. Initially, it started as a cluster of a few sculptures and its first name was Yard Space 11. Realizing the name didn't make sense Hannemann dropped it but kept on constructing this random art piece. But his mother sarcastically named it the Cathedral of Junk and the name has stuck since. Besides sourcing his own junk to build it, fans and well-wishers send clutter to Hannemann as build materials that he cheekily calls junk mail. Over the years Hannemann has kept building it and in 2019 he declared the Cathedral of Junk as 99 percent complete.

Controversies and Demolition Threats

Though inanimate the Cathedral of Junk has been mired in controversies that made it nearly be demolished in 2010. They range from wild parties held there bothering a neighbor who complained. The Austin City Inspectorate also declared the Cathedral of Junk a dangerous structure since it had no building permit. Hannemann consequently closed it from the public for seven months and started tearing it down. That deprived him of an income since he couldn't rent out his house or lease the property. During that time city, civil engineers did inspections as Hannemann and volunteers rebuilt it to comply with building regulations.

Later, the engineers declared the Cathedral of Junk safe, and after relevant permits were issued Hannemann was authorized to continue operating it. Still, according to the permits it cannot exceed its current height and must be at least five feet from the fence. As a testament to its mystic resilience, the Cathedral of Junk has also survived fierce rainstorms and multiple lightning strikes.

Cathedral of Junk Tours

The Cathedral of Junk is open all year and attracts an estimated up to 14,000 tourists from around the world yearly. Hannemann limits daily visitors to between 200 to 300 visitors. Visits to the Cathedral of Junk are booked in advance by calling Hannemann who turns away random visitors. Tourists can call him on +1-512- 299-7413 to book visits to the Cathedral of Junk and tours to the cathedral are self-guided. Inside the cathedral, there is a staircase leading to the top viewing area.

Weddings, birthdays, and bachelor parties are hosted at the Cathedral of Junk at an agreed fee. It has also hosted, senior citizens, girl scouts, and students on school field trips. There is a small tile slide where children play while visiting. The Cathedral of Junk has in the past appeared in Spy Kids film and a Bank of America commercial was filmed there. Austin has also used the cathedral to market itself as an ideal travel destination for tourists.

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