Mother Goose House

This certainly isn’t your average house. An enormous goose acts as the roof, sitting atop the nest-shaped building like a fantastical, fowl guardian. 

George Stacy began building this unique house in Hazard, Kentucky, in 1935. Before starting, he hunted an actual goose so he could use its skeleton as a blueprint. Stacy spent years constructing his unusual creation, living in an old shack near the site with his wife until the building was completed in 1940.

The final project is an eye-catching piece of novelty architecture for sure. The bird-shaped roof is ribbed, mimicking the feathered texture of an actual living goose. The goose’s eyes are made from headlights that still work and often shine like a strange, birdish beacon in the night.

The actual house, too, follows the avian theme. It’s shaped like a nest; a home for both the giant bird atop it and the people who live within it. Though the building’s creator died years ago, people still live within his unconventional abode, which stands as a testament to his architectural creativity.

In March 2021 high winds brought the goose’s head crashing down to the parking lot.  It was repaired, including a new steel skeleton, and placed back on the roof in August 2021.