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email: roadarch@outlook.com |
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| Florida Mid-Century Modern Domes (page 1) |
(hit "refresh" to get the most recent version of this page; click on photos for larger images)
| Cash Dome Cutler Bay, FL 2009: |
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| 2020 and 2021: | |
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| The Cash Dome building was built in 1965 and features an interconnected double dome. The original occupant may have been two restaurants, Chicken Tony's and Hasty Chef, which occupied the building around 1966. It may have also housed an ice cream sundae shop at some point. By the early 1970s, it was housing a real estate office. The Cash Dome opened here in 1988. By 2018, the building was housing a Boost Mobile store and an AUTOBUY. The dome on the right now houses a smoke and vape store. [map] |
| Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex Ellenton, FL |
storage structure [gone] Grant-Valkaria, FL |
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The Ellenton Ice and Sports Complex is modern but I'll include it anyway. It was built in 1999 as the JP Igloo skating rink. [map]
This storage structure, or at least that's what it looks like, was located in front of a residence at the roadside. Does anyone have any idea what these things were used for originally? This photo is from 2009. The structure was still there in 2011 but gone by 2016. |
| double dome home Jupiter, FL |
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| This double dome home was built in 1987. [map] |
| Seaquarium Skybreak Key Biscayne, FL |
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The Seaquarium Skybreak is believed to have been designed by Charles McKirahan. Although the Miami Seaquarium opened in 1955, this dome was not built until 1960. It is usually referred to as the Golden Dome and is used for sea lion shows. The structure is 146 feet in diameter and is 55 feet tall. [map]
The same style of dome was built at the Aquatarium in St. Petersburg in 1964. Both domes were built by Kaiser Aluminum. The Aquatarium park was modeled after the Seaquarium. The Aquatarium closed in 1977 and was later demolished. |
| concrete dome Key Largo, FL |
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| This concrete dome was probably built in the 1960s. I don't know what was here originally. Since around 2015, the building has housed the Salt Hair Salon. [map] |
| Xanadu [gone] Kissimmee, FL |
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Xanadu was built in 1983 by Roy Mason. The 15-room structure was a prototype for "Homes of the Future" - an idea that never took off. There were two others like this (both gone now) in Gatlinburg, TN and Wisconsin Dells, WI. The homes were built using polyurethane foam over balloon-like forms. Some of the modern features included: a kitchen with microcomputers to help plan meals, closets that cleaned clothes with ultrasound and ultraviolet light, a greenhouse with a computer-monitoring system, and a biofeedback system that regulated background music and projected patterns on the walls.
The homes were inexpensive and futuristic but the cave-like interiors were too impractical to attract buyers. In 1996, the building was put up for sale and it stood vacant for many years. In 2001, the asking price was nearly $2 million. In October 2005, the structures were all demolished. For more, see these websites: 1 and 2. There is also a book about the place: "Xanadu: The Computerized Home of Tomorrow" by Roy Mason, Acropolis Books, 1983. |
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Copyright. All photos at this website are copyrighted and may only be used with my consent. This includes posting them at Facebook, Pinterest, blogs, other websites, personal use, etc. Tips & Updates. If you have suggestions about places that I haven't covered, historical info, or updates about places/things that have been remodeled or removed, I'd love to hear from you: roadarch@outlook.com. |