City Arts: Art on the Bayou

An expansive sky view of Houston’s Museum District, anchored by Hermann Park’s Mecom Fountain. Credit: Hugh Hargrave/Greater Houston CVB

Houston may indeed be known as oil country and the home of the NASA space center, but it is also a Southern city with sprawling live oaks, lemon-scented magnolias and a deep-rooted art scene with some 70 art galleries and about a dozen art museums and centers.

The city’s art museums are mostly clustered in three distinct areas, and once a year the Houston Museum District Association makes them easily accessible by deploying a fleet of shuttle buses and waiving entry fees. So for sheer convenience and the added fillip of a crowd’s excitement, plan to visit Houston this year on Saturday, Sept. 25, the city’s 14th annual Museum District Day. Houston is abuzz on this very arts-centered day—from the erudite remarks of veteran museum-goers to the musings of first-timers and the fresh curiosity of children.

For more of “City Arts: Art on the Bayou,” pick up the Fall 2010 issue of AmericanStyle, on newsstands Sept. 7! Subscribe now and never miss an article.