House of the Day: Volcano House or UFO?

House of the Day: Volcano House or UFO?

By Ann Brenoff

When this property was listed as a "one-of-a-kind," no lies were told. The listing agents here see a Volcano House; personally, we see a UFO. In either case, we thought this place deserves a shout-out on originality alone. Listed at $750,000 and located in the no-man's land of the desert between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, this 60-acre retreat in Valley Springs is the place to get away from it all.

The two-bedroom main house sits on a mountaintop and has a dome-like roof. The concrete and truss beams form the dome and from the inside, the 360-degree view is of the stark -- we say lunar -- landscape. There is an observation deck at the apex of the dome and a detached one-bedroom guesthouse, should you have visitors of the earthly variety.

The property is owned by public-television personality Huell Howser, who is host of thetravel documentary show, "California's Gold." It was originally constructed by Vard Wallace, who had a business selling drafting machines and airplane parts to aircraft companies during World War II.

According to previously published news stories, the home was completed in 1968 and designed to resemble the information center at the construction site of the nuclear power plant at San Onofre. If that's indeed the case, we can only conclude that someone had a sense of humor.

Mike Deasy and Scott Quattrochi, both of Deasy-Penner, have the listing.