Architectural loveliness may be in the eye of the beholder, but some mansions are just plain ugly. Blots on the countryside, huge and over-the-top mega-homes are now and then a pricey hodgepodge of building styles.
Modern Compound
Beverly Hills, Calif.
With circular walls of glass and tall steel beams, this over-the-top modern mansion dazzles sufficient to make your head spin. At 7,500 square feet, with a seven-car garage, a winch and gated security it looms large on a half-acre lot.
Spaceship House
Golden, Colo.
Feature in Woody Allen’s 1973 science fiction comedy “Sleeper,” this private mansion is ideal ... for aliens. Formally called the “Sculptured House,” the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Positioned on a mountain west of Denver, the house is recognized nearby as the “Flying Saucer House,” according to Zillow.com it was sold in a foreclosure auction for $1.5 million in 2010.
Concrete Blocks
Huntington, N.Y.
From the front, this concrete-and-cedar-sided manse looks about as attractive as a bomb shelter. The design is so cold it could pass for a storage space unit ... for ice. Planned by architect Charles Gwathmey, the chunky modern house is nestled into a housing hillside, with most of the glass to the rear overlooking woods.
Turret Overload
Wadsworth, Ill.
Those with a liking for turrets might drink in this garish 17,000-square-foot, five-bedroom mansion. The house is scalloped with curved towers that poke out of the bland landscape like a series of windowed silos.
Gas Station Home
Lake Success, N.Y.
With a jumbo portico and a four car garage facing the public space, this mansion might pass for a hotel — or a gas station. But set in a community daringly named Lake Success, how could this six-bedroom current stucco palace on two acres be whatever thing but over the top? It’s on the market for $5,880,000.