Intriguing Things: Underground Home, Las Vegas

Sometimes I get intrigued by intriguing things and I wanna talk about them. They're probably things most people don't really care about or they would be talking about them already, right?  Well, maybe so, but I'm gonna talk about some of them here anyways.  Who knows. Maybe you'll be intrigued as well.

I've always been intrigued by underground things.  Underground houses, underground cities, bomb shelters, time capsules; you bury it, I will be intrigued by it.  Today's particular Intriguing Underground Thing is located in Las Vegas, but it's doubtful you've ever heard of it, and most people don't even know it exists.

There is a house on a corner in a regular neighborhood.

Notice the Turbine Thingy next to the Suburban?

This house was built in recent years, but before that, this was a well-landscaped lot surrounded by a fancy fence, which enclosed a driveway and lots of big boulders and several of these turbine thingies sticking up out of the ground.  Inside one of the boulders was an elevator shaft, and what lay beneath was an entire 6,000 sq. ft. home built underground.  With a yard.  And a sky that changes from day to night. And a swimming pool, and a guest house.

This thing just blows my mind!  Not just an underground home, but the whole shebang!  Astro-turf lawn!  A sky that can turn from day to night with the push of a button!  Perfect, climate-controlled living! No leaves to pick up, no lawn to mow, no snow or wind or rain or heat to contend with.  Leave the doors open all day, it's Ok!  Mama won't yell at you for running in and out!  Yes, I am truly intrigued by this place and also very sad to know that it is just sitting down there wasting away.  Maybe one day I'll be able to tour it.  Or I can find it and figure out how to break in. (Just kiddin', Mama.)

The house has been featured on HGTV as well as in several magazine articles.  NEST magazine did an article on the house in 2003.  You can see the article, complete with lots of photos, here.

The home was built by a wealthy man named Girard B. Henderson.  Well, actually, Mr. Henderson hired an expert in underground living to build the home.  The man's name was Jay Swayze, and he lived in his own underground home in Plainview, TX.  That home is called "The Atomitat" and you can read about it  here and here.

I understand that they have tours of this home periodically, and you can bet I'm gonna find out and take a little drive down to Plainview to check it out!

There is quite a lot of information about the Las Vegas house on the web.  Here are some links if you, too, are intrigued and would like to know more:

Las Vegas Sun Article

nefotlak's blog

Blog with recent above ground pics

Metropolis Magazine article