Atlanta White House

After fleeing from Iran to the United States in 1979, Fred Milani built a prosperous real estate business in Atlanta, Georgia, a city that epitomized the building boom of the 1990s and early 2000s. Made rich by the ever-expanding housing bubble, in 2002, Milani built himself and his family a 3/4-scale model of the White House, at 16,500 square feet. Milani viewed his abode as a tribute to democracy and the U.S.

The interior does not exactly reflect the layout of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, though it has a few key replicas. There is an Oval Office, with a desk akin to the president’s. There is a movie theater, and a replica of Lincoln’s bedroom, with a copy of the Emancipation Proclamation. However, there are some major differences: overt religious images, ostentatious interior decorating, and a huge pool.

As the Atlanta housing market went bust, Milani’s fortunes suffered as well, and in early 2009, he had to put his dream house on the market for a little under $10 million. In 2011, the house foreclosed.