| Pensacola Beach situated on the Gulf of | | | | plastics factory in England and homes |
| Mexico coast in Florida features some of the | | | | throughout the United States. There is even a |
| State's more wacky attractions, such as | | | | Futuro house right next to a highway in |
| outrageous advertising billboards and the Ice | | | | Estonia being passed off as Santa Claus's |
| House, but one of its most oft-visited | | | | Flying Saucer! |
| curiosities is the privately-owned 'UFO' | | | | |
| house, located at 1304 Panferio Drive, | | | | Sales literature in the late 1960s described |
| Pensacola Beach. | | | | the Futuro as "representing the modern, |
| | | | comfortable way of housing incorporating |
| Perched atop a one-story building, the | | | | practical coziness," and confidently |
| saucer-shaped home looks like it has just | | | | predicted that: "the Futuro is the dwelling |
| landed on some unsuspecting earthman's roof. | | | | of the future." However, despite their |
| Complete with a futuristic ramp leading to | | | | optimism, sales of the Futuro - please excuse |
| the saucer's drop-down door and model aliens | | | | the pun - never 'took off,' so following the |
| staring out of the port-hole windows, the | | | | initial run of 20, production ceased |
| house has become one of the hottest | | | | entirely. The house was criticised for |
| unofficial Pensacola Beach tourist | | | | lacking storage space, and considered too |
| attractions. Made entirely from | | | | pricy and too small for normal families. The |
| fibreglass-reinforced polyester plastic, the | | | | fact that it was built out of plastic |
| white UFO house has proved very resilient, | | | | certainly didn't help sales either as |
| still standing 35 years after construction | | | | potential buyers in the 1960s thought it |
| and following a battering from several | | | | wouldn't stand the test of time. But, as can |
| hurricanes. | | | | be seen from the magnificent example at |
| | | | Pensacola Beach, they were wrong! |
| Although known as the 'UFO house', it is | | | | |
| actually one of only 20 Futuro houses ever | | | | As a curiosity, the UFO house at Pensacola is |
| built and designed by Finnish pop architect | | | | well worth a visit if you are in that part of |
| Matti Suuronen in 1968. Originally intended | | | | Florida. And if you plan to stay overnight |
| as a futuristic ski cabin for a friend of the | | | | during your visit remember that hotels in |
| Finn, the Futuro house proved so versatile | | | | Pensacola can be expensive at the height of |
| that the other 19 were commissioned for a | | | | the season, so try to go when it's less busy. |
| variety of purposes, such as: observer | | | | After all, the UFO house will still be there |
| stations for the Swedish Air Force, a youth | | | | - it's not flying anywhere! |
| club in Stuttgart, an office for a Yorkshire | | | | |