Remember this house from Woody Allen's Sleeper? For many people, it symbolized an ultra-stylish future. In 2002, it was listed for $10 million. In 2006, a businessman bought it for $3.4 million. It just foreclosed, and sold for $1.5 million.
The "Sculptured House," just outside Denver, CO, was designed by architect Charles Deaton, as a reaction to the rectangular homes of the 1960s. Said Deaton, "People aren't angular. So why should they live in rectangles?" And the "sculptured" part of the name refers to the fact that it was designed as a sculpture first and foremost, and the floor plan was worked out as an afterthought. Deaton never managed to finish the interior, and sold the building for $800,000 in 1993. (Orgasmatron not included.)
According to Forbes, software exec John Huggins bought the house in 1999 for $1.3 million, after Huggins' company was bought by America Online. The Sculptured House was a mess — the windows were broken, the plaster was falling down, and there was snow inside the house. Huggins spent millions fixing it up, then listed it for $10 million in 2002.
It's not clear whether Huggins got his asking price, but according to AFP, Denver businessman Michael Dunahay paid just $3.43 million for it in 2006 — then failed to pay off most of his $3.13 million loan. After the foreclosure, a property investment company picked it up at auction for just $1.53 million, outbidding a loan servicing company by a dollar. Presumably they'll flip it and sell it for more, but still — it seems like the future isn't worth what it used to be.