TWA Terminal

Strip Mall
Virginia Beach, VA
Photo courtesy Moon Mullins OX-76

If you're ever in Virginia Beach, drop by a mid-50's looking Strip Mall. The "saw tooth" design for its canopy was definitely a sign of its times.

Back when these roadside strips were popping up along America's growing suburban highways, catching the motorist's eye was part of the job. That angular canopy certainly did the trick here. Nothing fancy, just a little Space Age style mixed into a neighborhood shopping center.

Whether this particular strip mall and its sawtooth canopy are still around today is unknown. Hopefully somebody in Virginia Beach remembers where this one stood.

Milton Futuro House
Milton, D
Photo courtesy Moon Mullins OX-76

Looks like something just landed in Delaware. This Moon House sits beside an airfield near Milton looking ready to take a few earthling specimens up into the sky for testing. Not quite the cylinder from War of the Worlds, but interesting nonetheless.

Turns out this really is about as close to a flying saucer as roadside architecture gets. It's a Futuro House, designed in 1968 by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen as a lightweight prefabricated home that could even be transported by helicopter. Only 96 were reportedly built.

At just 26 feet across, there isn't a whole lot of room inside the saucer. Even better, the entrance is reached by a staircase that drops down from underneath, just like any respectable spacecraft should have.

The Futuro still sits near the Eagle Crest airfield today and remains one of two known examples in Delaware. So if you're passing through Milton and spot a flying saucer sitting beside the runway, no need to call the authorities. At least not yet.

UPDATE: The Futuro House remains standing beside the airfield near Milton. 08-26