November 27, 2023

1969 is Calling!

I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving with your families. As I write to you today from an airport lounge, I’m returning from a family vacation in Santa Fe and Taos, New Mexico. In keeping with my interest in all things real estate, I just had to visit some of the oldest dwellings in the United States while I was there!

First, I climbed inside the cliff dwellings at Bandolier National Park, which were first inhabited some 10,000 years ago!

Later in the week, I had the chance to visit the oldest continuously occupied homes in the United States in Taos Pueblo. The multi-story adobe buildings were first built over 1,000 years ago.

Finally, we finished our trip by skiing on 9 inches of fresh powder in Taos Ski Valley. So today, inspired by my trip, I have a little of everything: some 🕰️Early Edifces (dating back to the 1600s), three actual 🪨Cave Cribs, six super unique 🏜️ Adobe Abodes, and to start us off, for today’s main feature, I’ll be taking you back in time to a groovy geodesic dome in the ski town of Killington, Vermont.

Built in 1969, it has some swanky features, like a rope swing hanging from a beam, an antique phone booth, a sauna, a three-story fire pole, and red shag carpet climbing up the walls. (“The red shag carpet immediately says it is time for fun,” the listing claims.)

Imagine the parties that must have been hosted in this house. Picture this, after a long, cold day on the slopes, you invite your friends back to your mountain-side cabin, and before long, people are swinging from the ceiling, sliding down the fire pole, and dancing the night away on the red shag carpet.

Your guests would be clinking glasses and chatting away around the cozy central fireplace.

The sauna off the living room is not only functional but with its trippy orange-oval door, I get the feeling it might just be a time machine, as well.

Unfortunately, the house has seen better days; it needs a lot of repairs and is being sold “as is.” While the kitchen cabinets seem to have a fresh coat of periwinkle paint, most of the counter space is being taken up with the vintage washer and dryer…

Head up the mirrored central spiral staircase, cross the blue shag gangplank, and you’ve made it to the dome’s second floor.

The upstairs game room may come with the late 80s Sega video game “Out Run,” but its walls are covered in the matted and torn red shag carpet… *achoo*

The rest of the house also has oval doors, some psychedelic wallpaper, and even shag-carpeted bathrooms. 😨

At under half a million dollars, this isn’t a bad deal for a property this close to the popular ski mountain. Just minutes from the Great Eastern ski bridge, it could certainly be rented out for a pretty penny during winter months. You should just be prepared to put in some work to make it your own. But hey, that's all part of the fun, right?

Til next time,

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