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