Tallahassee Democrat - 011782 | Added 010717
The
Tallahassee Democrat published 011782 included an article titled "Wanted: Homes For The Homeless". The article begins:
"
Technology put a man on the moon, but it cannot build low-cost, mass-produced homes to meet the world's housing needs. Why?"
and goes on to report on the research of a man named Oktay Ural and his dedication to finding an answer to this problem.
The Futuro House is briefly mentioned (though not by name) as one of over 100 existing building systems already in use worldwide; it is described this way:
"
... Some are exotic. A fiberglass-reinforced, polyester-plastic developed by a Finnish company (Oy Polykem Ab) turns out dome-shaped homes, retail shops, even drive-in banks that can be assembled like Tinker-Toy parts."
Over and above the somewhat colorful description the most interesting thing about this article, to us at least, is the photo of a Futuro that accompanies it. The photo shows a Futuro with an entry configuration that, while reminiscent of
Rockland, is one we have not seen before and appears to us to be unique. The photo and a little more information can be found
here.
Tampa Bay Times - 010209 | Added 100717
The
Tampa Bay Times is published in
St. Petersburg, Florida. It has a long history having been around since the end of the 1800's. It was called the St. Petersburg Times until 2011.
The 010209 issue carried a short article titled "Say Cheesy" that documented "cheesy" sights around the area for tourists and photographers. One of those sights was the
Tampa Bay Futuro sitting atop the 2001 Odyssey strip club. There is a photo of the Futuro with what is presumably a patron of the club who looks like he drank one (or several) too many standing out front.
The Asbury Park Press - 052872 | Added 100718
The 052872 Sunday edition of the
Asbury Park Press reported on the planned delivery of a "Space Bank" to the
Woodbridge Mall in
Woodbridge Township, New Jersey on 060272.
This was the first of several Futuros that served as branches of
City Federal Savings and Loan in the
New Jersey area during the early 1970's. Two variants of Futuro were used in this way, standard Futuros with 16 windows around the circumference of the unit and a variant which had only 8 windows. More information on "Space Banks" can be found
here.
The Baltimore Sun - 082671 | Added 051017
The Baltimore Sun was first published in 1837. The 082671 issue reported on the
Internationale Kunststoffhaus Ausstellung der Welt that opened in 1971 outside the German town of
Lüdenscheid.
Three photos accompanied this article including one which includes the Futuro that was displayed at the "IKA".
Specifically the shot shows the Futuro along with (in the foreground) Jean Maneval's
Bulle Six Coques and (to the right of the Futuro) Casoni & Casoni's
Rondo.
We do actually have an original print of this particular photo in our collection; it can be
here.
The Boston Globe - 013072 | Added 100718
The 013072 issue (Home & Garden supplement to the Sunday Globe) of the
Boston Globe carried an article with the bizarre title "How about life in a sausage -- or doughnut?" that reported on the
Internationale Kunststoffhaus Ausstellung der Welt that ran outside the German town of
Lüdenscheid from 080171 to 103171 and then again from 043072 to 083172.
The "International Plastic House Exhibition of the World" or IKA as it was known showcased a large number of plastic and potentially portable housing units and included among them was the Futuro House.
The Boston Globe article includes both an exterior and interior photo of the Futuro and it suggests the Futuro was designed by Alco Of Goslar which is of course incorrect.
The Canberra Times - 101768 | Added 032517
The 101768 issue of the Australian newspaper
The Canberra Times included an article, titled "Space-age Cottage Appears", reporting on the appearance of
Futuro #002 (now located in Matsalu, Estonia) at the 1968
Finnfocus exhibition.
The exhibition was held on board the ferry Finnpartner moored next to
Tower Bridge in
London and the Futuro was displayed on one of the upper decks.
The brief article describes the Futuro as "Casa Futura" (it was only subsequent to Finnfocus that the Futuro House actually got its name) and it is accompanied by two photos, one exterior and one interior.
The Cincinnati Enquirer - 102803 | Added 070217
First published way back in 1841
The Cincinnati Enquirer is now the last remaining daily newspaper in the area. The 102803 issue carried an article about the
Covington Futuro titled:
"
'Space House' Looking Ready To Take Off, Fly To The Junkyard"
The article starts out this way:
"
It won't fly. Its metal skin is rusted and paint is peeling in some spots."
Half right! The Futuro clearly does not fly but of course it is not manufactured of metal. As the article goes on it does not get much more accurate and in particular it states more than once that the "spaceship house" started out life in the late 1950's or early 1960's.
The Daily Intelligencer - 040270 | Added 111216
The 040270 issue of
Doylestown, PA based publication the
The Daily Intelligencer included a very short Futuro related article.
The article reports that the Futuro which had been on display for more than a year on Philadelphia city property had been forced by the city to relocate. The Futuro had previously been located at 20th & The Parkway and had been relocated to a parking lot a couple of blocks away. Information about the previous location can be found
here.
An article in the
Philadelphia Inquirer on 010772 reported on the Futuros removal from the parking lot some 20 months later.
The Daily Times - 083016 | Added 102916
Right around the end of August 2016 a story on the
Milton Futuro and it's resident, Richard Garrett, appeared online and in several local newspaper editions. The story was by James Fisher and Jason Minto; it was very general in nature with no new information but it was accompanied by a nice set of both exterior and interior photos.
On 083016
Salisbury, MD based publication
The Daily Times included this article under the headline "Life in a UFO bubble in Milton".
The article also appeared in the
082716 issue of The Daily Times under the headline "A 'Mad Men'-era home with Finnish and sci-fi flavor" and in the
090216 issue under the headline "Life in a UFO bubble in Milton". The 082816 issue of
The Sunday News Journal also carried the article ; the headline was "'Mad Men'-era home in Milton". The article can also be found online
here.
For a little more information along with photos see the
Milton page.
The Decatur Daily Review - 080870 | Added 101516
The 080870 issue of
The Decatur Daily Review published in
Decatur, Illinois carried an article about preparations for the upcoming
Illinois State Fair in
Springfield, Illinois.
The article, "State Fairground To Come Alive On Thursday", referred to the fact that a Futuro would be displayed at the fair and included a photo that was captioned "Workmen get Futuro, a new housing design, ready for the fair. Futuro is located near the main gate."
More information can be found in the
Modpod Inc. section of the "
Concept, Design & Manufacturing" page.
The Evening Journal - 081071 | Added 100516
The 081071 issue of
Willmington, DE publication The Evening Journal (now the
News Journal) included a short article titled "Space Homes Mobile? Lewes Says They Are" which illustrates the challenges Futuro businesses faced in obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals to site Futuro Houses.
The article specifically related to Joe Hudson's company
New Dimensions Of Delaware Inc. and reported on the Futuro House being classified as a "Mobile Home" by the
Lewes City Council effectively barring a planned Futuro development.
More information can be found in the
New Dimensions Of Delaware Inc. section of the "
Concept, Design & Manufacturing" page.
This article also appeared in a second local publication, The Morning News, on the same day under the headline "
Lewes Acts To Bar Homes Of Fiberglass".
The Guardian - 082218 | Added 090218
British newspaper
The Guardian carried an article titled "
Back to the Futuro: the spaceship house that landed in Yorkshire" in its 082218 issue. The image at left is of the online version of the article.
The article includes a little general Futuro history, some commentary related to Waterside Plastics and the
Todmorden Futuro, one of several that company manufactured in the UK, and it also references Craig Barnes'
UK Futuro and its current visit to Le Havre.
The Indianapolis Star - 090269 | Added 100717
The
The Indianapolis Star has been published in, not surprisingly,
Indianapolis, Indiana, since 1903. Page 13 of the 090269 issue included an article about the Futuro House.
It is typical of those seen in multiple publications in the late 1960's and provides only very general information about the Futuro.
The article is accompanied by two photos, one exterior and one interior. Interestingly the exterior photo, an iconic and oft used photograph of Hirvensalmi (now of course fully restored and located at the
WeeGee Exhibition Center), was printed upside down.
The Pantagraph - 080270 | Added 101516
The 080270 issue of
Bloomington, IL based publication
The Pantagraph carried an article about the Futuro House under the headline "Home Of The Future In State Fair Debut".
The article reported on Mod Pod Inc., an
Iowa City, IA based company with, presumably, a license to market and distribute Futuros in the area, and the upcoming display of a Futuro at the 1970
Illinois State Fair in
Springfield, Illinois.
More information can be found in the
Modpod Inc. section of the "
Concept, Design & Manufacturing" page.
The Philadelphia Inquirer - 031670 | Added 100116
The 031670 issue of
The Philadelphia Inquirer included a short article about a Futuro House located at 20th & The Parkway in
Philadelphia, PA. The article was accompanied by a single photograph.
There are actually two versions of this with the second being from the New Jersey edition of the publication. Though the headlines and text are different they are essentially the same article.
This is one of several newspaper articles that document Futuros at multiple locations in Philadelphia during the early 1970's.
Other articles appeared in
The Evening Journal (090969),
The Philadelphia Inquirer (010772) and the
Philadelphia Daily News (070974). Detailed information about all of these articles can be found on the "
Lost Souls" page.
The Philadelphia Inquirer - 090595 | Added 100116
The 090595 issue of
The Philadelphia Inquirer included a follow up to a previous article (
080195) that was attempting to identify an "unknown" structure (that to us is clearly a Futuro) located in
Pipersville, PA that was mounted atop a silo/shed type building close to Route 611.
In this article, despite comparisons to known Futuros, the reporter was unwilling to conclude the structure was actually a Futuro though in a third article a few days later (
091195) he did finally reach that conclusion.
More detail along with a photo can be found on the "
Lost Souls" page.
The Post Standard - 032475 | Added 102916
The 032475 issue of
Syracuse, NY based paper
The Post Standard carried an ad for an exhibition titled "Builders Expo '75".
The exhibition would run 040375-040675 at the
New York State Fairgrounds in Syracuse and among the exhibits would be a Futuro.
The ad included a photo of a Futuro which was captioned "Futuro II"; it also made reference to Futuro as a "Flying Saucer" and as the "House Of The Future".
The ad did not identify the company providing the Futuro for the Expo and that would, presumably, be using the exhibition to try to market the Futuro.
The Sunday News Journal - 082816 | Added 102916
Right around the end of August 2016 a story on the
Milton Futuro and it's resident, Richard Garrett, appeared online and in several local newspaper editions. The story was by James Fisher and Jason Minto; it was very general in nature with no new information but it was accompanied by a nice set of both exterior and interior photos.
On 082816
New Castle County, DE based publication
The Sunday News Journal included this article under the headline "'Mad Men'-era home in Milton".
The article also appeared in The Daily Times on
082716 under the headline "A 'Mad Men'-era home with Finnish and sci-fi flavor" and in the
083016 and
090216 issues under the headline "Life in a UFO bubble in Milton". The article can also be found online
here.
For a little more information along with photos see the
Milton page.
The Tampa Times - 103070 | Added 012018
One of the most unusual uses of any of the still existing Futuros is that of the one in
Tampa, Florida which serves as the as a VIP lounge for 2001 Nude Odyssey, a local strip club.
The club is located on N. Dale Mabry Hwy. The 103070 issue of The Tampa Times carried a short article and a photo of a fully assembled Futuro (described not as a Futuro but as a "contraption") sitting on a flat bed truck in a parking lot on N. Dale Mabry Hwy. The article ends with this:
"
The "return to Futuro" reference means to return the item to the Futuro Corp., wherever that is."
The reference is presumably to the wording that can be seen lower right in the photo (see the
Tampa Futuro page for a larger version of the photo). Though the photo resolution is not good and the wording is not clear it is hard to imagine what else the article could be referring to.
We are not big believers in coincidence and so, while there is no actual evidence to back the assumption, it seems reasonable given the timing and geographical location, that this could be a photo of the
Tampa Futuro shortly before it was placed in its current location.
The Tampa Tribune - 091870 | Added 012018
The 091870 issue of
The Tampa Tribune carried an article under the title "S. Florida 'Saucer' Is Really No UFO".
The article, which is accompanied by a single photograph, reports on a Futuro located in San Carlos Park in
Fort Myers, Florida. The Futuro had previously been located for a short while in
Arcadia, Florida where it was the subject of photos that accompanied a Futuro article published in the September 1970 issue of
Playboy magazine.
The Futuro was owned by American International Land Co. (AILC), the Futuro franchisee for the South Florida area; more information can be found in the AILC section of the "
Concept, Design & Manufacturing" page.
The Tampa Tribune - 122070 | Added 100717
The Tampa Tribune was published from 1895 through 2016 when it was acquired by
The Tampa Bay Times and publication ended.
The 122070 issue of the Tribune included an ad for the Futuro House on page 5-H. The ad indicated that a Futuro was on display in
Clearwater, Florida, and could be visited by appointment.
Pure conjecture on our part but it seems likely that this Futuro would have been one of the two remaining Futuros in Florida,
Tampa or
Pensacola Beach or the one once located on
Semmes St, Tampa that was eventually demolished.
The Tampa Tribune - 053171 | Added 012018
This is one of those entries that might cause folks to ask, "why bother". However as we continue to research Futuro and in particular as we search various newspaper archives it is not unusual to find uninformative (and frankly sometimes uninteresting) mentions of Futuro but we tend to include them on the site anyway "for the record" and to satisfy the "collector bug".
The 053171 issue of
The Tampa Tribune included one such mention of the Futuro House and specifically of
Clearwater, Forida based Futuro distributor "
Futuro Of Florida".
The reference to the Futuro House was found in a question and answer section of the newspaper titled "Troubleshooter".
One of the newspapers readers had submitted a question about the Futuro House; specifically, he or she was looking for contact information for the "company which distributes those homes which look like flying saucers". The response was to provide the information for
Futuro Of Florida.
Valley Morning Star - 050271 | Added 111216
The 050271 issue of the
Harlingen, Texas based publication the
Valley Morning Star included an ad for CPL, the Central Power And Light Company, that included a photo of a Futuro House.
The ad had nothing to do with Futuro, instead it spoke to the company's "future focused" strategy.
Presumably the inclusion of the Futuro photo, captioned "Futuro II Vacation House, Courtesy Futuro Corporation, Philadelphia, Pa", was meant to represent this "forward thinking" operating philosophy.
The Charlotte Observer - 050268 | Added 041120
The Charlotte Observer was first published way back in 1886 and is still going strong at the time of writing.
The 050268 issue of the publication carried a short article on the Futuro accompanied by a single photo. This is one of the earlier newspaper articles we have come across.
The commentary is brief and general in nature. The photo shows a Futuro under construction at the Polykem plant in
Hiekkaharju; this collection contains an
original print of this press photo which indicates the photo itself dates from 042568.
The Kansas City Star - 053170 | Added 111320
On 053170 the
Kansas City Star published what is one of the most interesting and unusual articles about the Futuro we have ever come across. The article was published under the heading "Unique Eighth Floor For Downtown Hotel" and reported on plans to use four Futuros for a totally unique upper floor at the (later demolished) Dixon Inn at 12th and Baltimore in Kansas City.
This is the first we have ever heard of this planned development and to our knowledge it never actually happened.
The article starts out this way:
"
The Launching Pad, an eighth floor, will be added to the Dixon Inn at Twelfth and Baltimore in late June with the scheduled helicopter delivery of three additional rooms and an executive suite to the rooftop in a manner resembling a science-fiction invasion of ships from outer space"
The rather cool artists impression at the right of the first page imagines one of the Futuros being lowered to the hotel roof though frankly it looks like the pictured helicopter might be a little puny for the task at hand.
The article is actually relatively lengthy compared to many articles from the time about the Futuro and makes for a very interesting read. We will not reproduce all of the content here but we do recommend you read the article.
There are several interesting photos and drawings that accompany the article and you can see most by reading the article itself. We did however feel the need to add the third image below to this page; it looks like such an awesome concept that unfortunately never came to fruition (at least to our knowledge - if anyone knows differently we would love to
hear from you).
Tampa Bay Times - 051770 | Added 012018
The
Tampa Bay Times is published in
St. Petersburg, Florida. It has a long history having been around since the end of the 1800's. It was called the St. Petersburg Times until 2011.
The 051770 issue included a Futuro article that was run under the heading "Futuro II Sets Down In Florida" that reports on a Futuro located first in
Arcadia, Florida and then in
Fort Myers, Florida. It is accompanied by two photographs; an exterior photo taken in Arcadia and an interior shot.
The Futuro was owned by American International Land Co. (AILC), the Futuro franchisee for South Florida; more information can be found in the AILC section of the "
Concept, Design & Manufacturing" page.
Tampa Bay Times - 120670 | Added 012018
The
Tampa Bay Times is published in
St. Petersburg, Florida. The publication has been around since the late 1800's and was known as the St. Petersburg Times until 2011.
The 120670 issue included an article titled "Futuro II - Vacation Home Lands In Pinellas" which reports on a "blue version of Futuro II" located at 2480 State Road 580,
Clearwater, Florida which was open for "public inspection and purchase for about $18,000 installed on your lot".
The Futuro was the "display" model for
Futuro Of Florida, a local Futuro distributor. Though brief the article was accompanied by interior and exterior photos and a floor plan.
More information along with a better look at the two photos can be found in the
Futuro Of Florida section of the "
Concept, Design & Manufacturing" page.
Tampa Bay Times - 050396 | Added 021118
The
Tampa Bay Times is published in
St. Petersburg, Florida. It has a long history having been around since the end of the 1800's. The newspaper was called the St. Petersburg Times until 2011.
The 050396 issue of the publication carried a feature titled "Seven Wonders Of Tampa". The Futuro House actually made this feature twice with the Futuros on
Semmes Street (now demolished) and on
Dale Mabry Road being listed at numbers 2 and 5 respectively.
The Age - 071770 | Added 070317
The Age is a
Melbourne based daily newspaper first published in 1854. The 071770 issue included an article about the Futuro House on page 9.
The article, titled "Non-flying saucer", reported on a "giant red saucer (that had) landed in
Greensborough" describing it as "the latest in way-out architectural design".
The report added that manufacturer
Futuro Corporation Pty, Ltd., Albury expected to build 20 plus Futuros in the following couple of months and notes that the "saucers (were) widely used as ski-lodges in Europe".
This particular unit was located on a new housing estate where the developer was using it as an office. Based on available information on the history of the
South Morang Futuro it seems very likely this article refers to the Futuro that was relocated from Greensborough to South Morang in the late 1980's.
The Berkshire Eagle - 061268 | Added 012018
The Berkshire Eagle is a daily newspaper published in
Pittsfield, MA that, according to Wikipedia, can trace its "roots" all the way back to 1789.
The 061268 issue of the publication included a small article on the Futuro, one of the earliest we have come across, which includes a little general information and a photo of a Futuro during manufacture described as being:
"
... nearly completed, in a warehouse in Helsinki."
Presumably the "warehouse in Helsinki" is actually the Polykem manufacturing plant.
The Boston Globe - 030572 | Added 100718
The 030572 issue (Home & Garden supplement to the Sunday Globe) of the
Boston Globe carried an article titled "Imagination - The Doorway to Tomorrow's Home" about the 1972 New England Home Show which ran at the
Hynes Auditorium in the
Prudential Center in
Boston, MA 030572 through 031172.
The article reports that a large model of Futuro II would be on display at the show. The article characterized the Futuro II as being an ultra modern fiber glass house by Futuro Leisure Living of Lawrence" (a company we have not come across before) the shape of a football with a $15,800 price tag.
The Cincinnati Enquirer - 031570 | Added 123017
First published way back in 1841
The Cincinnati Enquirer is now the last remaining daily newspaper in the area. The 031570 issue carried an article titled "Housing breakthroughs hit HOME: Tri-state area receives samples of the future". The article starts this way:
"
Three factors came together recently in the Tri-state area which illustrate the housing directions facing America in the decades to come."
One of the three was the Futuro, or Futuron II as it is mostly named in the article. The article reports that "Futuron II - a
Buck Rogers like fiber-glass sphere" would soon be available in the area and would sell for $14,000 fully furnished or $10,000 unfurnished with transport costs estimated at $600. The article provides some details about the Futuro along with several drawings and a photo of
Futuro #001 during its days in Hirvensalmi.
The Courier News - 052672 | Added 100718
The 052672 issue of the
Somerville, New Jersey based
Courier News reported on the planned delivery of a "Space Bank" to the
Woodbridge Mall in
Woodbridge Township, New Jersey on 060272.
This was the first of several Futuros that served as branches of
City Federal Savings and Loan in the
New Jersey area during the early 1970's. Two variants of Futuro were used in this way, standard Futuros with 16 windows around the circumference of the unit and a variant which had only 8 windows. More information on "Space Banks" can be found
here.
The Daily Times - 082716 | Added 102916
Right around the end of August 2016 a story on the
Milton Futuro and it's resident, Richard Garrett, appeared online and in several local newspaper editions. The story was by James Fisher and Jason Minto; it was very general in nature with no new information but it was accompanied by a nice set of both exterior and interior photos.
On 082716
Salisbury, MD based publication
The Daily Times included this article under the headline "A 'Mad Men'-era home with Finnish and sci-fi flavor".
The article also appeared in the
083016 and
090216 issues of The Daily Times under the headline "Life in a UFO bubble in Milton" and in the 092816 issue of the
The Sunday News Journal under the headline "'Mad Men'-era home in Milton". The article can also be found online
here.
For a little more information along with photos see the
Milton page.
The Daily Times - 090216 | Added 102916
Right around the end of August 2016 a story on the
Milton Futuro and it's resident, Richard Garrett, appeared online and in several local newspaper editions. The story was by James Fisher and Jason Minto; it was very general in nature with no new information but it was accompanied by a nice set of both exterior and interior photos.
On 090216
Salisbury, MD based publication
The Daily Times included this article under the headline "Life in a UFO bubble in Milton".
The article also appeared in the
082716 issue of The Daily Times under the headline "A 'Mad Men'-era home with Finnish and sci-fi flavor" and in the
083016 issue under the headline "Life in a UFO bubble in Milton".
The Sunday News Journal also carried the article ; the headline was "'Mad Men'-era home in Milton". The article can also be found online
here.
For a little more information along with photos see the
Milton page.
The Evening Journal - 090969 | Added 100116
The 090969 issue of the
Wilmington, DE based Evening Journal (now the
News Journal) included a full page article on the Futuro House.
The article is a report on a Futuro House that was located at 20th & The Parkway in
Philadelphia, PA. It includes both interior and exterior photographs of the Futuro.
This is one of several newspaper articles that document Futuros at multiple locations in the Philadelphia area during the early 1970's.
Other articles appeared in
The Philadelphia Inquirer (031670),
The Philadelphia Inquirer (010772) and the
Philadelphia Daily News (070974). Detailed information about all of these articles can be found on the "
Lost Souls" page.
The Evening Journal - 101571 | Added 100516
1971 saw Joe Hudson, owner of
New Dimensions Of Delaware Inc. attempting to get regulatory approval for developments that would include Futuros and conventional homes.
In August 1971 a development in Lewes was effectively barred when the local city council deemed the Futuro to be a "mobile home" (
The Morning News and
The Evening Journal of 081071).
This 101571 issue of
Willmington, DE publication The Evening Journal included a short piece under the headline "OK Near on Fiberglass Houses?" that reported on a decision by the
Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission to have their attorney draw up an agreement for possible approval of a development along Rt. 88 east of
Milton, DE that would include Futuro Houses.
A couple of weeks later an article in the
Salisbury, MD based publication
The Sunday Times reported that the commission had approved recommending the project for approval by the County Council. It is unclear if the council actually ever formally approved the project.
More information can be found in the
New Dimensions Of Delaware Inc. section of the "
Concept, Design & Manufacturing" page.
The Morning News - 081071 | Added 100516
The 081071 issue of
Willmington, DE publication The Morning News (now the
News Journal) included a short article titled "Lewes Acts To Bar Homes Of Fiberglass" which illustrates the challenges Futuro businesses faced in obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals to site Futuro Houses.
The article specifically related to Joe Hudson's company
New Dimensions Of Delaware Inc. and reported on the Futuro House being classified as a "Mobile Home" by the
Lewes City Council effectively barring a planned Futuro development.
More information can be found in the
New Dimensions Of Delaware Inc. section of the "
Concept, Design & Manufacturing" page.
This article also appeared in a second local publication, The Evening Journal, on the same day under the headline "
Space Homes Mobile? Lewes Says They Are".
The Philadelphia Daily News - 101575 | Added 101516
The 101575 issue of
The Philadelphia Daily News carried an article under the headline "She Proves Dream Was No Mis-Steak".
Though not primarily about the Futuro, the article was more focused on Joan and Matthew Lallo and their restaurant The Roundhouse, it does offer a little history relating to the dilapidated Futuro currently located in Media, PA since that Futuro was actually the property in which the Lallos operated their restaurant.
More information can be found on the
Media Futuro page.
The Philadelphia Inquirer - 010772 | Added 100116
The 010772 issue of
The Philadelphia Inquirer includes an interesting and amusing story about a Futuro House that was located on a parking lot at 20th and JFK Boulevard in
Philadelphia, PA.
This is one of several articles that document Futuros at multiple locations in Philadelphia during the early 1970's. Other articles appeared in
The Evening Journal (090969),
The Philadelphia Inquirer (031670) and the
Philadelphia Daily News (070974). Detailed information about all of these articles can be found on the "
Lost Souls" page.
The Philadelphia Inquirer - 080195 | Added 100116
In the 080195 issue of
The Philadelphia Inquirer we find a short piece that is actually attempting to identify a structure that is, to us at least, clearly a Futuro House located in
Pipersville, PA.
The reporter does compare the structure, which is mounted atop a shed/silo type building, to a couple of other known Futuros but seems unwilling to conclude definitively that it is actually a Futuro.
In later Philadelphia Inquirer articles [
090595 and
091195] the reporter does eventually conclude that the structure is a Futuro House.
More detail and a better photo can be found on the "
Lost Souls" page.
The Philadelphia Inquirer - 091195 | Added 100116
This article is the second follow up to one that appeared in the 080195 issue of
The Philadelphia Inquirer which was attempting to identify a structure mounted atop a shed/silo like building close to Route 611 in
Pipersville, PA.
In both the
original article and the first follow up article (
090595) the reporter seemed unwilling to conclude that the structure was a Futuro despite several comparisons to known Futuros. In this, the third article, he did finally come to that conclusion.
More detail along with a photo can be found on the "
Lost Souls" page.
The Sun - 013072 | Added 072719
The Homes section of the 013072 issue of
The Sun (Sunday Edition) published in
Lowell, MA carried a short article on Futuro titled "New Vacation Home". The article includes a couple of drawings; a floor plan and an elevation.
Though general and in line with most articles from the time the article does call out a few details. Among those the article notes a $15,600 price tag for a fully furnished Futuro, that the electrical heating system can heat the unit from zero to 72° in 30 minutes at a cost of under 50 cents a day and that the Futuro is "virtually maintenance free".
The Sunday Times - 103171 | Added 100516
1971 saw Joe Hudson, owner of
New Dimensions Of Delaware Inc. attempting to get regulatory approval for developments that would include Futuros and conventional homes.
In August 1971 a development in Lewes was effectively barred when the local city council deemed the Futuro to be a "mobile home" (
The Morning News and
The Evening Journal of 081071).
The 101571 issue of
The Evening Journal included a short piece under the headline "OK Near on Fiberglass Houses?" that reported on a decision by the
Sussex County Planning & Zoning Commission to have their attorney draw up an agreement for possible approval of a development along Rt. 88 east of
Milton, DE that would include Futuro Houses.
In this 103171 issue of the
Salisbury, MD based publication
The Sunday Times an article under the headline "2 Sussex Zoning Bids Are Denied" reports that the commission had approved recommending the project for approval by the County Council (the headline referred to to other projects that were not recommended for approval). It is unclear if the council actually ever formally approved the project.
More information can be found in the
New Dimensions Of Delaware Inc. section of the "
Concept, Design & Manufacturing" page.
The Tampa Times - 040971 | Added 021118
The Tampa Times of 040971 carried a Futuro article on pages D1 and D18. The article reports on a Futuro owned by Gwendolyn Zerby that was located on Semmes Street, Tampa, FL (the article actually lists the location as Simms Street but we believe it should read Semmes Street).
The Futuro, blue in color, had been previously located in
Clearwater, FL where it was displayed by Futuro Distributor "
Futuro Of Florida". More information can be found in the "
Futuro Of Florida" section of the "
Concept, Design & Manufacturing" page and in the
Semmes Street section of the "
Demolished Futuros" page.
The Tampa Tribune - 112870 | Added 012018
The 112870 issue of
The Tampa Tribune carried an article under the title "At Home In The Space Age" about Futuro and
Futuro Of Florida the "local agent" for Futuro.
There were actually a couple of different versions of the article, the "Main" one was accompanied by an exterior photo of the company's "display" Futuro which was located in
Clearwater, Florida. The "Other Editions" version also included an interior photo.
There is more information and a better look at the photos in the
Futuro Of Florida section of the "
Concept, Design & Manufacturing" page.
The Tennessean - 051770 | Added 100516
The 051770 issue of
Nashville, TN based
The Tennessean included a two page article about the Futuro House under the headline "The Space Place".
The article includes descriptions of the Futuro along with comments and opinions from Jerry Free, president of the 21st Century Corporation. The article describes Free as:
"
... a Nashville based marketer of structures like the ... Futuro II, which looks something like a styrofoam bagel"
Presumably the 21st Century Corporation had negotiated a license with the Futuro Corporation Of Philadelphia for marketing and distribution rights for the Futuro in the region.
More information can be found in the
21st Century Corporation section of the "
Concept, Design & Manufacturing" page.
The Miami Herald - 080168 | Added 041120
The Miami Herald was founded back in 1903; it continues to be published to this day and is currently the second largest newspaper in South Florida.
The 050268 issue of the publication carried a very short article on the Futuro accompanied by a couple of photos.
The commentary such as is it is extremely brief and general in nature. The photos show a Futuro under construction at the Polykem plant in
Hiekkaharju; this collection contains original prints of these press photos which indicate the photos themselves date from 042568 (they can be found
here and
here).
The Cincinnati Enquirer - 121568 | Added 101221
First published way back in 1841
The Cincinnati Enquirer is now the last remaining daily newspaper in the area.
The 121568 issue of the publication carried an article about the exhibition "
Plastic As Plastic" which ran from 112368 through 011269 at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts (now the
Museum of Arts and Design) in
New York City (the Exhibition Catalog can also be found in this collection
here).
The article, titled "Architectural Chemistry" included a couple of photos of
Futuro #000, one exterior and one interior, but did not mention Futuro in the text.