A house located high in the Hollywood Hills has a storied history that involves a mid-century modern architect, a murder, and movies — not to mention that it’s shaped like a UFO. Although it wasn’t intended to look like an extraterrestrial spacecraft, that didn’t stop locals from reporting that they had seen one when the home first debuted in the 1960s. The home, which hovers above Mulholland Drive, was featured in the 1984 film Body Double, with replicas of the property also appearing in the television series The Jetsons and The Simpsons. While the house — designed by famous architect John Lautner — does favor an UFO, it was constructed in that shape to deal with a more logical problem: uneven ground. The property sits on a 45-degree incline, which called for a little ingenuity when it came to foundation. The single-story home sits on a circular piece of concrete that’s buried underground. A hollow concrete pillar runs up from the center, connecting to the base of the home where 8 iron support pillars branch out to the edges of the house. Additional support beams spread out from the center, with smaller ones in between. The domed roof and underside of the home is made of Chem-Seal plastic panels that were provided free with the promise that the home would be named after its product. The promise was kept, and the house is now called the Chemosphere. The hollow tube in the center of the foundation transports water and gas into the home. It cost $140,000 to build the home, which would be around $1.5 million today — still a bargain in California. The house is extremely hard to get to, with a cable car needed to bring people up to the property. Dr. Richard Kuhn purchased the property in the 1970s, but was murdered inside the home in 1976 during a domestic dispute. After that, the home was rented out for parties, until Benedikt Taschen acquired it in 1997. The Chemosphere remains a private residence today and is not open to the public.
