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