Site of Xanadu House, Kissimmee (demolished)

 house, abandoned / shut down, historical layer / disappeared object

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The Xanadu Houses were a series of experimental homes built to showcase examples of computers and automation in the home in the United States. The architectural project began in 1979, and during the early 1980s three houses were built in different parts of the United States: one each in Kissimmee, Florida; Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin; and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The houses included novel construction and design techniques, and became popular tourist attractions during the 1980s.

The most popular Xanadu house was the second house, designed by architect Roy Mason. The outside was manufactured out of Styrofoam. The Xanadu Houses used an automated system controlled by Commodore microcomputers. The houses had 15 rooms each, of these the kitchen, party room, health spa, and bedrooms all used computers and other electronics equipment heavily in their design.

At its peak, there were about 1000 visitors a day in the mid-1980s, but by the early 1990s, the Xanadu houses began to lose popularity because the technology they used was quickly becoming obsolete, and as a result the houses in Wisconsin and Tennessee were demolished, while the Xanadu House in Kissimmee continued to operate as a public visitor attraction until it was closed in 1996. By October 2005, the last of the Xanadu houses had been demolished, following years of abandonment and use by the homeless.

www.abandonedbutnotforgotten.com/xanadu-home_of_the_fut...