The Flying Saucer House

We have a bonafide landmark in the area. It's not much to look at but it's just so cool.

It's called the Futuro House, designed by Matti Suuronen in 1968. Only 96 of these homes were ever built. 96. And we've got one a few miles from where we live.

It's not habitable but it still gets a regular flow of visitors. If I had money to burn I would definitely buy this house and refurbish it. Don't you think it would make a great studio or a writing haven? Think of the inspiration!

The house is tiny. According to this web site it can accommodat
e eight people. Yeah, maybe, if they were REALLY good friends.

You can see pictures of what these homes looked like brand new at the web site.

Our local Futuro House is sad looking, but still neat. I wish I knew
who owned it. I'd like to know why it's sitting in that field and why no one has ever done anything with it.

My guess: I think it's a real flying saucer and this is where it crash landed.

My proof: There's a big honky tonk not far from there. I think the aliens got so plastered, they crashed and didn't have enough dough to get their ride fixed.

Every time I pass by this thing I want to haul it back to my property and fix it up. I just hate to see it unloved.

Don't you think it's unique? If you could own this piece of history, what would you do with it?

A home? A diner? You can call it the Do Drop Inn.

Comments

Dru said…
That is so cool. I wonder why it hasn't been taken cared of? I would have made it a tourist attraction.
Ted Cross said…
I'd refurbish it and use it for my harem.
Maria Zannini said…
Dru: It attracts tourists even looking like this.

There's a regular home not far from it. If I ever see the owner walking around, I'm going to stop and ask him about the house.
Maria Zannini said…
Ted:

A harem!

I'm telling your wife, Ted. LOL!
Ted Cross said…
A guy can dream, can't he? **grumble, grumble**
Maria Zannini said…
Ted: I'm keeping you away from my husband. He doesn't need any more 'ideas'.
Jennifer Shirk said…
Whoa, that's kind of cool. I'd love to take a tour thru it. :)

Only 8 people? But I guess they didn't think you'd be having any parties in the future, huh?
Mike Keyton said…
A holiday home for chickens.
Krista D. Ball said…
I would totally turn that into a command centre-inspired cafe. LED lights all over the place, beeping, occasional red alerts.

*checks bank account for investment funds*

Do you think they'll take a trade in cats?
Maria Zannini said…
Jennifer: I know. If you had a party people would be spilling out of the port holes.
Maria Zannini said…
Mike: I thought of that. But my chickens aren't housebroken. :)
Maria Zannini said…
Krista: Heck, Krista. I'd trade them chickens!

I thought it would make a good cafe too. It would fit right in at Roswell.
Anonymous said…
It would make a great bar! Out in the middle of nowhere? Live entertainment? Oh, the possibilities...
Maria Zannini said…
Liz: I'm seeing a plan come together. :)

If only we could afford it.
Angelina Rain said…
Wow, I would love to have that little house/saucer thing. I would either turn it into a tourist attraction or a camper for when I go camping.
Maria Zannini said…
Welcome, Lia!

You hit it on the head. It would make a perfect camp house.
Linda Leszczuk said…
Gamers! You know, the ones that play those fantasy role playing games. Wouldn't that be the coolest place imaginable for gamers to meet for game sessions?

Or game playing chickens. Yeah, even better!
Writer said…
Hi Maria,
This structure needs a little TLC. It could be anything you wanted it to be. As a writer myself, I'd turn it into my own studio. ;)I'd escape here and pretend I'm somewhere else.
BTW, I love your pics of Tank & Iko. They're adorable. I'm an animal lover as well and my husband volunteers for the local SPCA. You're lucky you live surrounded by nature:the best muse.
Keep on writing!
Claudia
www.claudiadelbalso.blogspot.com
Maria Zannini said…
Linda: The only games my chickens play is Catch the Hen. :)
Maria Zannini said…
Hi Claudia! Glad to meet you!

Da boys thank you for the compliment. (I did raise them to be polite.)

And kudos to your hubby for volunteering at the SPCA. The noblest of all causes.

Thanks for popping in.
Writer said…
Hi again, Maria.

I forgot to ask you something about your books. Is your publisher a small press? Do you have an agent?
Thank you for answering my questions. BTW, I joined your blog to see more of your interesting photos.
Happy writing!
Claudia
Sherri said…
Gonna come steal that baby, LOL, it just screams playhouse or fort or whatever my boys imagination decides it is for the day!

DS#3 is sitting here drooling over my shoulder for it.
Maria Zannini said…
Claudia:

Currently I have one novel out and one coming out in the fall. Both are small press.

No agent yet but that's no great loss. Small press has been very good to me. It would be even better if I were prolific. :)

Thank you for following. Stop by any time. I tend to shake things up and write about an assortment of topics.

Be sure to visit some of the regulars who comment here too. There's a vast wealth of information from these guys.

That just proves I only hang with the smartest people. :grin:
Maria Zannini said…
OMG, Sherri, you're right. The boys would LOVE it.

Can you imagine? You wouldn't see them until they were 25. LOL.
Jackie said…
If I were a male would make it my "Man Cave", since I am female it would make a very nice place for me to turn into my very own back yard home away from home with all my books and be a nice quiet corner to read! {I can dream} I have 2 cats, a Chihuahua, a husband, my Oscar (fish) and my Mother in the house with me and no place to call my own that at some point is not noisy!

However, if fully restored by the people on the Pawnshop show my sweetie watches, it would probably sell for quite a lot of money if someone could ever afford to restore it in the first place! What a neat novelty down the road from you....

jackie

BTW, what condition is the Honky Tonk in?
Maria Zannini said…
Jackie: I think it would make a great reading house. A big comfy chair and stacks of books surrounding you in a circle.

Ref: honky tonk

It's big and it looks pretty decent from the outside, but I've never been inside.

I know it's popular on a Saturday night. :grin: The cops patrol that stretch of road for miles.
Mary Curry said…
Maria, that is sooooo cool. I can see it sort of done up in advanced Jetsons as a reading nook.
Jenny Schwartz said…
Oh, this brings back memories. As a kid I used to drive (be driven, I wasn't that precocious at 5) past a white and green futuro house in Willeton, Western Australia. I think someone's even done a quick video on its disappearance.
Maria Zannini said…
Mary: I can't help but think of the Jetson's too. I keep expecting to see the ghosts of Elroy and Astro playing in the yard. :)
Maria Zannini said…
Jenny: It disappeared? Oh, wow. I wonder what happened.

I'm glad you stopped in and mentioned you saw one. Other than the web site, I've never heard of such a house.

But with only 96 in the whole world, it's a rare thing indeed.

Now I really want one. LOL.
Unknown said…
Oooo! I vote for turning it into a diner. Or how 'bout a small, used book store?
Writer said…
Hi Maria,
I hope you're having a great Sunday. Hmmm, Maria, I noticed you're not following me yet ;) And the only reason I dared to say it/leave it in your comments is because you told your readers to do so under "Must have friends" which I think is funny, clever, and "fair". ;)
Hope you drop by! I believe we can learn lots from each other this way. Greetings to Tank & Iko.
Maria Zannini said…
Catie: A bookstore!

Even better-- a genre only bookstore. No highbrow literary stuff allowed.
Maria Zannini said…
Claudia: Can you write out your blog url? Every time I check it, it only comes up to the profile page. There's no blog attached to it.

But thanks for bringing it up! It's the only way I know for sure if I'm following everyone.
Writer said…
Thanks, Maria for your prompt reply. I don't know why you're not getting the actual blog page. Hmmm, don't know what's going on.

Okay, let's try again.

http://www.claudiadelbalso.blogspot.com/

I'd also like to share this article that came out on our local paper.

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Writers+have+stick+together+blogger+says/3344842/story.html
Maria Zannini said…
Got it, Claudia.

For some reason, your icon on GFC doesn't have an active link for you. Usually that means there is no blog, just someone who added my blog to their watch list. Click on your icon to the right and see if your name is an active link. (I'm afraid I don't know how to make the link active. I just know it happens.)

If I click on your name on this comment string, it takes me to Blogger, but there are no links to go anywhere else.

PS Big congrats on a great article about you. How did that come about?
Writer said…
Hi Maria,
Finally! I can see you now under my followers. Thank you! I'll check out my link to make sure is active. Yesterday, I had the same problem with two readers that couldn't log in. Strange!
Thank you for your kind wishes. Well, I was surprised myself. The guy who wrote the article approached me. He came across my blog and liked what he saw so he sent me an email asking me for an interview. Isn't that cool? I've learned to embrace life in the blogosphere ;) You never know who might stop by.
Angela Brown said…
That saucer thing looks like it could be refurbed into a nice little place for purchasing genre books and having a nice snack, call it the Nook and Cranny (Nook since it's so small and Cranny for the snacks). The slogan: This place will give you an 'out of this world' experience to share with all you know.
Maria Zannini said…
Angela: You have good marketing sense.

We actually have a little indie bookstore nearby that was created out of a former movie theater. It's called Nooks & Crannies.

Now I really wish I could get that flying saucer. The things we could do with it. I hate to see it left neglected.
Frank said…
There was one of these in Wellington, New Zealand, in the 1970s. It was used as an office for a Used Car sales-lot.

I've no idea what happened to it. One day it was just... gone. (Queue "Twilightr Zone" theme)

But I always wanted one - or several, interconnected. Even from outside, I could tell there couldn't be much room inside one of those things. (How did the Robinson Family, Dr Smith, and the Robot manage?!)