Settlement reached in the strange case of California's famous Flintstone House

2021-06-28T17:44:00-04:00

A settlement has been reached in the strange case of a homeowner who fought her California town to keep a famous Flintstones motif installed. The curious legal dispute has kept the Bay Area suburb in the headlines for the past two and a half years.

Florence Fang will receive $125,000 from the town of Hillsborough after it apparently chose to settle her countersuit brought against their original public nuisance claim challenging her legal right to display giant mushrooms and other ephemera on her 2,700 square foot home that has been deemed “a highly visible eyesore.”

The Flintstone House in 2007. Photo: Wikimedia User Sergei.

The so-called Flintstone House sits atop a hillside overlooking Interstate 280 and was built using spray-on concrete as well as aeronautical balloons for a Silicon Valley family by the architect William Nicholson in 1976.

The home had been “revitalized” with new signage and giant metal dinosaur sculptures when Fang purchased it in 2017 for a highly under-market ...

'Flintstone House' owner sued by neighbors. Eyesore or Yabba-dabba-doo?

2019-03-19T14:30:00-04:00

The “Flintstones” home in northern California appears to take its architectural cues from the town of Bedrock. The experimental house was built in the 1970s using a technique that involved spraying concrete to create curved walls. The result is a building where Fred and Wilma would feel at home, and it has become a landmark for drivers passing on I-280.

Neighbors of the quirky home in the affluent town of Hillsborough in Northern California aren't exactly fans of the prehistoric-looking architecture, nor the collection of large metal dinosaur and woolly mammoth sculptures on the property, and have sued the current owner, businesswoman Florence Fang, for permit violations and creating "a highly visible eyesore" that is "out of keeping with community standards." The colorful "YABBA-DABBA-DOO" letters along the driveway did not seem to have much of an appeasing effect either.

According to the home's Wikipedia entry, the structure at 45 Berryessa Way was originally designed by architect William Nicholson and built in 1976 "as one of several experimental domed buildings using new materials." The facade got its deep orange hue in 2000, and the house sold to Florence Fang in 2017 for $2.8 million.

Check out some impressions from the realtor's website for the property (all images via flintstonehouse280.com).

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Settlement reached in the strange case of California's famous Flintstone House

'Flintstone House' owner sued by neighbors. Eyesore or Yabba-dabba-doo?