California's Flintstones house safe from extinction following courtroom victory
From the town of Hillsborough, it's a page right out of history
TV Features Creative works
Florence Fang is a a woman who had a bold dream. Unlike most of us, she was able to make her dream come true, buying a full-on Flintstones house made up of lumpy, brightly colored domes and filling its garden with statues of dinosaurs, characters from the show, and, for whatever reason, a modern giraffe. Obviously jealous of her artistic vision, officials from the city of Hillsborough, California tried to destroy her home by launching an extinction-level lawsuit that, we’re pleased to report, has now been settled in Fang’s favor.
CNN marked this victory with a story about the lawsuit, brought against Fang in 2019 by “local officials” who claimed her house was a public nuisance that “violated codes.” She counter-sued, winning the right to have cool dinosaur statues outside of her home, and the ability to “apply for building permits for changes to the property” going forward. She was also awarded $125,000, which should be enough to cover the installation of at least one more towering prehistoric beast.
A Business Insider video provides the origins of the home. It was built in 1976 by an architect who says he was more inspired by the domed ceiling of Istanbul’s Blue Mosque than by the architecture of a Hanna-Barbera cartoon. Nonetheless, Fang bought the place in 2017—for $2.8 million goddamned dollars—and decided to capitalize on the Stone Age features by really leaning into the Flintstones aspects of its aesthetic.
Where Lord George Of R.R. Martin has so far failed to defeat local authorities in a quest to live in a fantasy world, Fang has triumphed. Good for her, we say. Maybe, if she’s really lucky, that Flintstones reboot can film a few scenes in her living room.
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34 Comments
Good for her. What’s the point of living in California if you can’t live in a house like that?
The way the domes were built is a pretty wild story — they inflated giant balloons, built a rebar structure over it, then sprayed it with concrete. Wikipedia has an article about the house:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Flintstone_House
even if it is aesthetically not my cup of tea, this house is a landmark for Peninsula Bay Area folks, driving from San Jose to SF seeing this house and the Junipero Serra Statue/rest area are just nice landmarks on your way to the City.
Yeah, I always enjoy seeing those landmarks whenever I decide to drive on 280.
Part of the joy of visiting Half Moon Bay is catching a glimpse of this house as you make your way back to SF.
I remember it from the 80’s when it was white. Still stood out, even then.
The City to the Peninsula on 280 was my commute for several years in the 90’s. I prefer the Flintstone house in the original white.
It’s goofy, and I’d never want to live there, but I did smile very time I drove past it.
The 280 from 85 going north has got to be one of the prettiest freeways.
you goddamn right ! unless you have business to do in Palo Alto/Redwood City/San Mateo, there is no reason to drive 101 to SF. (and there is always traffic / construction along 101, but hey still better than 880)
A historical home this well-preserved deserves to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Must take a lot of effort to keep Zombie Fred Flintstone in such excellent condition.
Bird that has to use its beak to sew Fred’s decomposing testicles back on every other day: “Raawwwk. It’s a living…”
Fred Frankenstone was right there!
Frankenstone’s monster!
will never, ever understandd giving a shit what your neighbors do with their private property unless it’s loud noises keeping you up at night or some sort of weird smell.to sue someone because they have a house you don’t like is just so…i don’t even know the word. narcissistic?
Hey man, it’s Cali. The laaand of narcissists.
People are stupid. Idiots in the Northeast fight back against the installation of very necessary wind energy farms because it “ruins their view.”
I understand why people are selfish NIMBYs, but man, I think wind power generators look fuckin’ awesome and I’d love having of a view of a wind farm.
Totally with you, one of the best parts of driving around Palm Springs, or most anywhere in Central Cali, is seeing the badass windfarms.
Yabba Dabba Doooo!
Sounds like the city was estopped from Bam-Bamming the house into Barney Rubble!and other jokes.
If there isn’t a food truck nearby, someone is missing out on some traffic sales!
The only Turkish thing that inspired the architect is their hash.
I’m glad the crazy old lady gets to keep her crazy house.
I mean, it doesn’t really look much at all like the Flintstone house though, which is gray and has large flat slabs for a roof, not bubbles.Still kinda neat I guess?
Maybe you should send Ms. Fang a letter and tell her she’s wrong.
It’s her house she can do what she wants, I’m just saying it doesn’t scream “Flintstone” to me when I look at it. Looks more like a Super Mario level background.
Was much cooler when it was its original white.
Got kind of a Tatooine chic to it
What the fuck? I saw this house ages ago and never heard it was being challenged. Only pieces of shit would do such a thing. This is America. Leave the lady alone. Her house is fun and she should live any way she desires. Glad she won.
Some of that interior looks like Luke’s home on Tatooine.
Everyone here is all “WTF dude let her keep the house”Meanwhile on the other side of the country, a concrete structure that WAS constructed correctly fell the fuck down and killed a ton of people.To those who are currently reading this using household power, you’re welcome for all that code enforcement.
It’s no Headington Shark.