A fire destroyed the Frisco Futuro House (Or “Frisco UFO”) on Wednesday night, October 19.
The fire was reported to the Frisco Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) at 10:06 p.m. and was extinguished by the Frisco and Buxton VFDs within several hours.
The Frisco UFO was one of the island’s most famous roadside attractions, and was highlighted in a number of news segments and magazines over the years.
The UFO was actually a Futuro House, which was an innovative prefabricated home that was designed in the 1960s. Initially conceived by Finnish architect Matti Suuronen, roughly 100 of these flying-saucer-like homes were built during the late 1960s and 1970s, and less than 20 are left in the United States.
The Frisco Futuro House was originally bought in 1972 by a couple who used it as a beach retreat along the oceanfront in Hatteras village.
Starting in the 1980s, the UFO was sold and moved to several Frisco locations, (including the Scotch Bonnet Marina), until it was relocated to its current site at 52186 Morriss Lane in the mid-1990s. In the past four decades, the structure has been leased as a gift shop, a newspaper office, and even an “Out of this World” hotdog stand.
In the past few years, however, it has been a tourist attraction, where resident alien Leroy Reynolds would surprise visitors who stopped by for a photo op.
The structure was unoccupied at the time of the fire, and there were no injuries reported in the incident.
The cause of the fire is under investigation as of Thursday morning, per the Frisco VFD, and the Island Free Press will post updates as soon as they become available.
How sad!
It was pure schlock but I slowed to gaze at it every time I passed it by.
Well Dang. Such a tragedy. Every trip down 12, it was always enjoyable to see. And it was just as famous as that … ummm…. tall thing with the light.