Huell Howser lists Newberry Springs compound for $750,000
PBS commentator Huell Howser has listed his 60-acre Newberry Springs compound with its dome-shaped home for $750,000.
Vard Wallace, who built a business selling drafting machines and airplane parts to Lockheed Corp. and other aircraft companies during World War II, had the high desert retreat constructed for himself as a getaway, according to Los Angeles Times archives. The home sits about midway between Las Vegas and Los Angeles.
Completed in 1968 and designed by Harold Bissner Jr., the spaceship-shaped home was envisioned to resemble the information center at the construction site of the nuclear generating plant at San Onofre.
Built on a volcanic cinder cone, the dome has tempered glass walls at ground level. Concrete and beams form the dome, which has 360-degree views of the mountains and surrounding desert. At the apex of the dome is an observation deck.
The main house has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a conversation pit and a fireplace. The ceiling of the dome is covered with steam-bent fir. The compound also includes a guesthouse with one bedroom and one bathroom. There is a three-car carport.
Howser, 64, is known as the host of the travel documentary show “California’s Gold” (1991-present).
Mike Deasy and Scott Quattrochi of Deasy Penner & Partners, Beverly Hills, have the listing.
