You have a preview view of this article while we are checking your access. When we have confirmed access, the full article content will load.Located in Pasadena, Calif., this futuristic dome — and affordable housing prototype — still stuns.Credit...Cameron CarothersCalifornia’s Last Surviving ‘Bubble House’ Is for SaleLocated in Pasadena, Calif., this futuristic dome — and affordable housing prototype — still stuns.Credit...Cameron CarothersListen · 5:14 min By Linda LabanMay 27, 2026Dome home, bubble home, shell house, airform house: Southern California architect Wallace Neff’s answer to post-World War II affordable housing was called many things.Mr. Neff’s innovative “airform” construction used a giant inflated balloon topped with sprayed gunite (a type of concrete) to create a futuristic-looking dome very quickly and cheaply, as he sought to address postwar housing shortages. The unconventional design was later abandoned and most of Mr. Neff’s airform homes have since been demolished.The sole surviving bubble house in the United States is now for sale in Pasadena, Calif., listed at $1.95 million. The home is listed by George Penner at Compass Real Estate, who admitted he’s never seen anything like it before.ImageThe original bubble house in Pasadena photographed in 1948, two years after it was built.Credit...Maynard L. Parker via The Huntington Library, San Marino, California“This is absolutely a unicorn, such a unique property,” Mr. Penner said, noting that numerous Neff bubble homes were built after World War II but this is the last known one in this country.Mr. Neff, who is known for Spanish-Mediterranean-style estates created for Hollywood icons like Judy Garland, Groucho Marx and Charlie Chaplin, built this experimental home for his brother, Andrew Neff, in 1947.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe.AdvertisementSKIP ADVERTISEMENT