You may have noticed that we've been heaping praise upon some of our favorite cities that are great art destinations. Many factors make a city great and Houston gets major props for doing public art extremely well. With over 677 works in its public sector art profile, many by local artists, the civic art program in Houston is a big reason why the giant Texas city is an art and culture destination.

Administered through the Mayor's Office of Cultural Affairs, the Houston public art program is institutionalized in city ordinance similar to other cities that we've covered. The city designates an impressive 1.75 percent of every major public construction project budget to incorporate art. Covering a range of public places from airports to right of ways, libraries to parks, and public safety facilities to transit stations, public sector art is everywhere in the city of Houston.

We're highlighting some of the public venues which put Houston on the map when it comes to interesting public art.

Eye-catching Art in the Park

The city of Houston has an entire program devoted to art in public parks. The system includes an online guide to navigating the 91 works of municipal art distributed among 24 city parks.A well-known and much sought-out installation, “Tolerance” by artist Jaume Plensa is located at Buffalo Bayou Park. The seven stainless steel sculptures of kneeling men represent the diversity among Houston’s multicultural population while also celebrating unity within the community.

Interesting fact: Plensa is a highly-esteemed Spanish contemporary artist and the boulders upon which each statue sits were shipped to Houston from Spain.

High Profile Airport Art

Distributed among major city-operated airports, Houston boasts one of the largest collections of airport art in the country. Included among the myriad works are unique sculptures, colorful murals, and intriguing visual displays, many by local and regional artists.Travelers and visitors to Houston's airports will encounter creative works at every turn, including a painted bronze sculpture by local artist Terry Allen, located at Terminal A of the George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Proving that everything is in fact bigger in Texas, the towering "Countree Music" takes the form of a 25-foot oak tree towering over an in-ground map. The map features Houston as the center of the universe, for which most proud Texans will agree.

Interesting fact: Artist Allen also specializes in musical and theater arts, which may explain the unique element of music incorporated as part of the artwork which airport passers-by can enjoy as they navigate the terminal.

Larger-Than-Life Library Art

There are plenty of good reasons to check out your local library, and in Houston, those include well-appointed art and design elements to enhance your book discovery experience.One of our favorite examples is "Books of a Feather." In addition to our affinity for puns, the charming display injects just the right amount of artistic whimsy in complement to the family-friendly Alice McKean Young Neighborhood Library. The installation by artist Dixie Friend Gay features a gaggle of birds ranging in height from 12 to 15 feet, made of stainless steel and meticulously and painstakingly adorned with colorful mosaic tiles.

Interesting fact: Many of the hand-made tiles are stamped with titles of books associated with birds and flight.Dare we say Houston public art ranks among the best in the country and there is much more to see and experience for yourself. You can also check out original art online now with new works posted weekly on the UGallery website.