'The Bucky Dome' : Former home of R. Buckminster Fuller

R. Buckminster Fuller was a visionary who came up with the idea of the geodesic dome, or "autonomous dwelling unit." He was convinced it would become the Home of the Future. He built his first dome in 1949, and erected this one -- a 40-footer -- in 1960, then lived in it while he taught and lectured at Carbondale's Southern Illinois University. Bucky fans regard it as the most important dome in the U.S.

Geodesic domes were popular with techno-hippies. Big ones were used as the U.S. pavilion at Expo '67 in Montreal, and as "Spaceship Earth" at Epcot. But despite Bucky's personal charisma, geodesic dome homes never caught on, and in fact have remained so uncommon that this one is a tourist attraction.