The Colony, Texas: Barney Smith's Toilet Seat Art Museum

This cool museum was the third stop on our "2009 Tour of Weirdness." Barney has created works of art from over 800 toilet seat lids so far. Each toilet seat (toilet seat LID, to be precise), has been made into a work of art using a variety of media, such as paint, engraving, photos, and various other pieces of memorabilia stuck in place. The subject matter covers historical events, newsworthy happenings, worldwide travels, hobbies, life events, and celebrities (both famous and "not so famous").

Barney Smith's tribute to the "King of Pop" was created on the day of Michael Jackson's passing. Just give him a call and tell him you're coming. He'll be thrilled to see you.

The last time that we visited Barney Smith, he had created 627 toilet seats for his Toilet Seat Art Museum (which is actually his garage). Now Barney is up to 811, and although he turns 86 in May, he has no intention of slowing down.

Toilet Seat Art is alive and well at Barney Smith's Toilet Seat Art Museum.

As of 7/3/98, Barney was up to 458 of his hand-decorated toilet seats. A retired plumber and firefighter, Barney now spends much of his time creating highly personal works of art by both painting and assembling objects onto the lids. He runs the museum out of his garage, and it is open whenever he's around (if you see the cone with the flags in the driveway, it's a go). His subject matter varies greatly: documentation of his travels to Jerusalem, Hawaii, Corn Palace, etc.; shriners; boy scout badges; coffin handles (he says he dug up a coffin in his backyard, but the city never responded to his report so he poured cement over it and made a patio); dedications to his family, friends, and God (one of his latest works uses puzzle pieces and the words, "Without God the puzzle wouldn't be complete"); photos from his eye surgeries; and plenty of Texas-specific imagery... the list goes on. He even has one with a piece of what he believes is an actual part of the insulation from the Space Shuttle Challenger. (He asked NASA to authenticate this, but they hadn't the time.) The kitsch value is high here, as is the rare chance to glimpse into the life of a man who has obviously lived fully.

A friendly, genuine, and animated man, Barney Smith met us at the end of his driveway with his hands outstretched to welcome us. He lead us through the exhibit, telling us his personal stories behind many of the toilet seats. We were there for almost two hours and he didn't stop talking the whole time, nor did we want him too. And despite the heat index of 102 degrees, we felt energized after our visit with Barney and his museum.

The museum is located in the Alamo Heights area. From Broadway, turn west onto Townsend, then right onto Abiso. The address is 239 Abiso, but the garage is located around the corner on Arbustus. The phone number is (210)824-7791. Best of all, it's free.