Thanks, Brock

Houston's iconic Beer Can House preserved by local brewery's donation

St. Arnold's Brewery helps preserve the Beer Can House

The Beer Can House now offers free admission and expanded hours.

Courtesy of The Beer Can House/ The Orange Show

The Houston Beer Can House, one of the city’s most famous and beloved artistic landmarks, will now have free admissions and expanded hours thanks to a partnership with Saint Arnold Brewing Company.

Located in the Rice Military neighborhood, John Milkovisch created the Beer Can House as a way to avoid chores rather than a grand artistic statement. The exterior is covered in roughly 50,000 crushed beer cans, most of which Milkovisch drank himself. It houses several sculptures and currently serves as an art gallery space.

The bright Houston sun refracts off the aluminum, turning the entire thing into a glimmering artifact that has brought in visitors from all over the world.

“Saint Arnold is proud to be a part of The Beer Can House’s continued evolution,” Saint Arnold founder Brock Wagner said in a statement. “As Texas’ oldest craft brewery, we take pride in supporting our local community and helping to make Houston a fun and exciting place to live and visit. I’d like to think that should Saint Arnold have been around during John Milkovisch’s time, he’d have used some of our cans to create his masterpiece.”

Tours and visits will be available Wednesday through Sunday from 10 am - 4 pm. In addition, the house will host special programming throughout the year, starting with a Block Party on October 12.

The Orange Show Center for Visionary Art bought the building in 2001 for $200,000, and it has been a part of the Houston art scene ever since. Some experts argue whether the building should be considered folk art or tramp art. Either way, it is a unique building that feels distinctly Houston.

“The Beer Can House is not only an internationally-recognized art environment – sparking curiosity and joy with each visitor it welcomes — but it also tells the story of Houston’s growth and our innate desire to create without abandon,” added Jack Massing, executive director of the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art. “For over 15 years, our preservation efforts with The Beer Can House have been simply about maintaining the structure and the grounds. Through this new partnership with Saint Arnold Brewing Company, we are looking forward to focusing more attention on enhancing the visitor experience while offering regular community events and rotating art exhibitions, all free and open to the public five days a week.”

Plans for future programming include art markets, concerts, interactive art activities, and more. Saint Arnold Brewery has a long history in the Houston area of funding important artistic and cultural institutions, everything from festivals and the Art Car Parade to veteran art therapy programming. Obviously, supporting a beer-themed landmark is a natural fit for a craft beer brewery, and their backing means The Beer Can House will be around to welcome its next generation of visitors.

More information can be found at the Orange Show website.

income analysis

Texas families need to make this much money for one parent to stay home

Photo by CDC on Unsplash

With costs to raise a child soaring over $20,000 a year in Texas, some households might decide to have one parent work while the other stays at home to raise their child.

As the cost of raising a child balloons in major cities like Houston, many families are weighing the choice between paying for child care or having one parent stay home full-time.

A recent analysis from SmartAsset determined the minimum income one parent needs to earn to support their partner staying at home to raise one child in all 50 states. In Texas — not just Houston — that amount is just under $75,000.

The study used the MIT Living Wage Calculator to compare the annual living wages needed for a household with two working adults and one child, and a household with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child. The study also calculated how much it would cost to raise a child with two working parents based on factors such as "food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, incremental income taxes and other necessities."

A Texas household with one working parent would need to earn $74,734 a year to support a stay-at-home partner and a child, the report found. If two parents worked in the household, necessitating some additional costs like childcare and transportation, it would require an additional $10,504 in annual income to raise their child.

SmartAsset said the cost to raise a child in Texas in a two-working-parent household adds up to $23,587. Raising a child in Houston, however, is somewhat more affordable. A separate SmartAsset study from June 2025 determined it costs $21,868 to raise a child in the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands metro.

In the report's ranking of states with the highest minimum income needed to support a family with one working adult, a stay-at-home parent, and one child, Texas ranked 32nd on the list.

In other states like Massachusetts, where raising a child can cost more than $40,000 a year, the report acknowledges ways families are working to reduce any financial burdens.

"This often includes considerations around who’s going to work in the household, and whether young children will require paid daycare services while parents are occupied," the report said. "With tradeoffs abound, many parents might seek to understand the minimum income needed to keep the family afloat while allowing the other parent to stay home to raise a young child."

The top 10 states with the lowest minimum income threshold to support a three-person family on one income are:

West Virginia – $68,099
Arkansas – $68,141
Mississippi – $70,242
Kentucky – $70,408
North Dakota – $70,949
Oklahoma – $71,718
Ohio – $72,114
South Dakota – $72,218
Alabama – $72,238
Nebraska – $72,966

texas income smartasset family

Thanks, Brock

Houston's iconic Beer Can House preserved by local brewery's donation

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