Volcano house newberry springs dome home detail

Somewhat sadly, this incredible dome home (that sits on a volcanic cone) has sat on the market on and off for a few years now. Perhaps the price tag is putting off customers (clocking in at three quarters of a million dollars) … or maybe it is the prospect of living high up in the high California desert near Newberry Springs.

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Volcano house newberry springs dome home approach

360-degree views in every direction look out on the alien landscape on all sides and flat cracked sandscape below. The mid-century, sort-of-modern interior could well be the lair for some James Bond supervillian … the exterior, well, it almost looks like the tip of a missile emerging from the ground.

Volcano house newberry springs dome homedeck

Sited between Los Vegas and Los Angeles on a 50-acre plot of land, the dome-shaped house rounds out the top of the site. A driveway runs past a shallow local lake, then spirals up through the dark ashen earth to reach the pinnacle.

Volcano house newberry springs dome home living room

The dome appears heavy from a distance, and might appear to look like solid concrete at a glance (though is really just a thin mud-plaster layer over the top). From the inside, wood and brick provide a softer experience for day-to-day living.

Volcano house newberry springs dome home evening

Eccentric houses can be difficult to sell – particularly in regions where property first boomed and then busted – and this is no exception. Still, if the original owners enjoyed their time living atop a miniature volcano, maybe it was a worthwhile investment in the end. (Redfin Listing)

Volcano house newberry springs dome home hilltop

More info from the Desert Sun

“Just beyond the eerie dunes that make up the Mojave Desert’s Devils Playground, a glaringly white dome rises up out of the ground. Poised atop a 150-foot cinder cone in Newberry Springs, the galactic-looking saucer is as utterly out of the ordinary as it is perfectly in place, disrupting the desolate landscape with sudden sublime symmetry.”

“But drive up the helical curve that winds up from the base of the mountain to the dwelling perched at the top, and you’ll find there’s more to this architectural icon than alien elements. Previously owned by beloved television host Huell Howser, this home designed by architect Harold James Bissner Jr. is just as contemplative as it is extraterrestrial – a meditation on ‘the environmental ergonomics of a home relative to the climate in which it’s placed,; says Bissner’s son, Harold ‘Jamie; James Bissner III.”

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