The iconic, curved, bright white, triple dome house known around Duluth for more than a half century as the “Flintstone House” or the “Mushroom House” is for sale for the first time in five years for $369,999.
The home consists of three domes made out of polyurethane foam. During construction, giant balloons were inflated, and then the foam was sprayed on both sides. “That’s how you get the exterior walls and the roof,” explained listing agent Alicia Lokke with Messina & Associates Real Estate.
Duluth entrepreneur and ski legend George Hovland built the house in 1970, hidden on a wooded lot near the University of Minnesota Duluth campus. Hovland competed in the 1952 Winter Olympics in the Nordic combined event which includes ski jumping and cross-country skiing.
Tatiana Marie Photography, Courtesy of Alicia Lokke with Messina & Associates Real Estate
“It’s called the Flintstone House for a reason,” said Lokke. “It really does feel like you're in this modern Stone Age-feeling place. It's very zen, actually, I think is the word that I would use to describe it.”
The house was last sold in 2021, after Hovland died. It was designed by architect Stan Nord Connolly. It was built in the early 70s when dome-shaped homes were growing in popularity. Lokke knew of one other home in the Duluth area built in the same fashion, but it’s since been torn down.
Since the home went on the market Wednesday, “it has been gangbusters,” Lokke said, with virtually back-to-back showings for two days.
The eventual buyer she thinks will be someone “very connected with the earth,” or perhaps a UMD professor who wants to be close to campus.
With virtually no straight walls, sculpted spaces, and soaring domed ceilings, the house “just kind of feels like it’s giving you a hug,” Lokke said.
Tatiana Marie Photography, Courtesy of Alicia Lokke with Messina & Associates Real Estate
