Is it an igloo? A giant golf ball? Maybe it’s supposed to look like a mini Superdome?
“No, it’s not an igloo or anything like that. It’s called the dome home.”
Irma Robinson lives next door to this so-called dome home on 30th and Utah Streets in Kenner. Robinson has lived next door for the past 35 years. She knows its secrets.
“You wouldn’t think it is 3 stories, but it is. You wouldn’t think it has a big pool hall in the back, but it does. It’s 60 by 120 feet. It has a jacuzzi, an office, living room, kitchen, all of that,” Robinson said.
The dome home’s been on this block for 40 years. It’s now boarded up and abandoned. Ms. Robinson said she misses the days when it had life, when Gilbert and Rosemary Bailey lived inside the home with their 3 boys.
“It’s sad because they didn’t keep it up. It was sad to see them move away. They built the house. Mr. Bailey drew up the blueprint. He was a contractor and his wife worked as a Secretary for Xavier University. She also helped me with bookkeeping for my daycare. The Bailey’s ended up getting a divorce after the boys were out of high school. They moved to Tallahassee, Florida,” Robinson said.
She said Mr. Bailey was also part of the Krewe of Zulu. He still owns the house, but hasn’t been able to keep up with it. It’s odd-shape makes it costly.
“He had to fix the roof every year. The roof’s made out of stucco and is very expensive to keep up,” she said.
“I last saw him a few months ago. He pays someone to keep up with the grass. They actually came to cut it today,” she said.
Ms. Robinson likes living next to such a unique kind of home. Though its future is uncertain, her memories remain.
“It’s sad they moved away. We had a good relationship. They raised all their children here. My kids played with their kids. I went through the door of this dome home several times,” she said.
Source: http://wgno.com/2013/09/19/the-mysterious-story-of-the-dome-home-off-the-interstate-in-kenner/
