Mosaic

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An artist works at Smither Park Saturday, March 5, 2016, in Houston.

An art piece at Smither Park Sept. 29, 2016, in Houston.

An art piece at Smither Park Sept. 29, 2016, in Houston.

A section of the Smither Park memory wall with large hummingbird mosaics that incorporate license plates, metal baseball bats and other surprising materials.

The pavilion at Smither Park Sept. 29, 2016, in Houston.

Lisa McClain, a volunteer artist, applies grout to an art installation at Smither Park Saturday, March 5, 2016, in Houston. Artists work and dancers performed a ceremony to bless Smither Park and The Orange Show, next door, for the upcoming year.

If broken glass at a park sounds more dangerous than beautiful, it's a sure indication a person hasn't visited this gem of a park.

With its sparkly mosaic tiles glimmering in the Houston sunshine, in-the-know locals have long known about this shiny treasure trove — but it's now gaining national attention after being named to Yelp's list of the country's "11 Most Outrageous Attractions."

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The review website recently released its outrageous roadside attractions list and No. 8 is Smither Park, 2441 Munger St., the only Texas attraction to have made the list. The park sits on just half an acre and features mosaic art on which visitors may sit, stand and even swing.

Completed in 2016, Smither Park is filled with mosaics created by more than 300 artists using scrap materials such as broken glass, tiles, shells and marbles. It took six years to open and was named after the late John H. Smither. His wife, Stephanie Smither, helped design the park in memory of her husband, along with help from artist and builder Dan Phillips.

Stephanie and John Smither had been long-time supporters of self-taught art and served as board members for the Orange Show Center for Visionary Art, a hub for artists featuring various enrichment programs, and which serves as the host for the city's much-celebrated Art Car Parade.

Jane Jablonowski, a volunteer artist, applies grout to an art installation at Smither Park Saturday, March 5, 2016, in Houston. Artists work and dancers performed a ceremony to bless Smither Park and The Orange Show, next door, for the upcoming year.

Some of the permanent and most iconic mosaic-covered features of the park include the Lindley Fish Amphitheater, Johnson Marble Tower and the Burguires, Hinton and Mathre Swings.

The park is open daily from dusk until dawn and admission is free. According to its site, visitors also can watch as artists work on mosaic contributions on occasional Saturdays.

Other attractions on the list included: