The Cathedral of Junk is exactly what it sounds like: a massive, multi-chamber structure built entirely from other people's discarded objects, hidden behind a suburban house in South Austin. Created by Vince Hannemann over more than three decades, the cathedral has rooms and towers and winding passages, all constructed from televisions, bicycles, hubcaps, toys, and every variety of junk imaginable.
Visiting requires contacting Hannemann in advance (his phone number circulates on local tourism sites); he admits visitors by appointment and often gives informal tours. The structure is genuinely impressive in its scale and inventiveness, and the experience of walking through rooms made from thousands of sorted and arranged discarded objects has a surreal quality entirely its own. It is one of the most distinctive folk art environments in America.