When faced with an impossible afternoon, drop everything and head to Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Art Museum. It will put your whole world in perspective. Or at least give you an amusing topic to bring up at your next social engagement.
A retired master plumber, Barney Smith has been creating works of art out of toilet seat covers for over thirty years! He is the star of the back yard Toilet Seat Art Museum right in the middle of a very cute Alamo Heights neighborhood and he’s been a guest and featured on The View, The Early Show and Montel. And you can bet that he has toilet seat art that commemorates all of those occasions. But when asked which of the hundreds of toilet seats is his favorite, he’ll quickly show you When Earth’s Last Picture Is Painted, inspired by a copy of Rudyard Kipling’s poem of the same name. He’ll show you the very copy that his teacher gave to him when he was just twelve and he’ll recite the poem to you by heart as you admire his work. (side: I’m pretty sure that the awesome teacher that gave him the poem that continues to move him today was an English teacher, because we’re cool like that.)
Barney Smith
Barney Smith’s Toilet Seat Art Museum is located at 239 Abiso in Alamo Heights, TX 78209.
You’ll need to call ahead to arrange a time for him to meet you, as this is his home. You can reach him at 210/824.7791. Go ahead. Call him! He’ll tell you all about each and every single one of them. Even about the one inspired by his wife’s gallstone removal surgery!
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Not nearly as cool as Barney himself is The Old Time Wooden Nickel Factory & Historical Museum. The home of the World’s Largest Wooden Nickel is located at 345 Austin Road in Alamo Heights, TX 78209. The coolest thing about this joint is the 1885 Chandler & Price printing press that prints over 6 million wooden nickels every year! But alas! You cannot see it up close & personal as they claim it is extremely dangerous. But you can see the press from the outside, looking in, through the glass window.
I can’t honestly say that The World’s Largest Wooden Nickel is worth its own trip, but you can easily tack it on to a trip to the San Antonio Botanical Garden as it is just a hop, skip & a jump away.
