Mount Rush Hour in Houston, Texas

This small plot of land, only a third of an acre in size, is the smallest park in Harris County — and home to some of its largest public art: Mount Rush Hour. Donated to the state in 2012 by local sculptor David Adickes, the collection combines two of his famous Presidential busts with two Texas politicians, Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston. The eighteen foot-high Statesmen rest on marble pedestals, lit at night by sconces. Every day, the Houston Chronicle estimates that they see about three million cars and trucks from their perch between Interstate 45 and The Katy Freeway.

This park is only one of many final resting places for one of Adickes’ lifelong passion projects. He was on a fateful road trip past Mount Rushmore when he wondered what it might be like to look the sculptures in the eye, soon embarking on a journey that would consume over a decade of his life and lead to more than one hundred and fifty president head statues. According to The Washington Post, he was known to frequent movie theaters just to stare at the backs of old men’s heads in attempts to get the statues right.

Adickes died in 2025 at the age of 98. The other 42 presidents from this set can be found at his old studio on Nance Street — and his sculptures of The Beatles (8th Wonder Brewery), Alexander Graham Bell (Hyde Park), and Virtuoso (Lyric Tower) can be spotted across the city. The other hundred president heads are split between an industrial recycling facility in Williamsburg, Virginia, and various RV parks and motels throughout North and South Dakota.