6 copycat houses that mimic famous homes
Photo courtesy of Wendy Harman
Do you want to live in the White House without the hassle of actually running for president? How about relaxing in your very own hobbit house without having to worry about visiting wizards?
All over the world, architecture and pop culture superfans are taking their devotion to new heights by constructing copycat homes that look like the properties of their idols -- both real and fictional. In Newport Beach, California, sits a luxurious plantation-style home that looks a lot like the iconic Tara from the movie "Gone with the Wind."
Near Dallas, an oil magnate built himself a version of George Washington's Mount Vernon that's even larger than the original home in Virginia.
The kicker is that these homes aren't tourist attractions -- the owners reside in the quirky properties full-time.
Check out these copies of famous homes that let people step into the lives of hobbits, heiresses and world leaders.
The White House
Photo courtesy of Wendy Harman
This 8,958-square-foot replica of the White House, located on the northeast side of Atlanta, features its own Oval Office and Lincoln Bedroom. The home was built in 2001 by an Atlanta real estate developer who put it up for sale in 2009 after the real estate market collapsed. The five-bedroom home has a fireplace, finished basement and swimming pool. It was last sold in November 2013 for $2.2 million.
The White House
Photo courtesy of Geoff Livingston
The real White House is 55,000 square feet and has 35 bathrooms -- many more than the 5.5 bathrooms in the replica.
Frank Lloyd Wright's Thomas Gale House
Photo courtesy of Mark Gutierrez, VHT Studios
Like works of other artists, the designs of famous architects are sure to inspire imitators. This four-bedroom home in Wheaton, Illinois, was built in 2002 as a replica of Frank Lloyd Wright's Thomas Gale House. It features two fireplaces, a fitness room and a darkroom for developing photographs. The home last sold in August 2015 for $830,000.
Frank Lloyd Wright's Thomas Gale House
Photo courtesy of Oak Park Cycle Club
The original Thomas Gale house, built not far away in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1892, is an example of the Queen Anne-style homes Wright built early in his career. He later became well known for his flat, boxy, prairie-style homes.
Bilbo Baggins' Hobbit House
Photo courtesy of Archer Buchanan Architecture Ltd.
When an avid J.R.R. Tolkien fan wanted a special place to house his collection of "Lord of the Rings" memorabilia in 2004, he commissioned a replica of the tiny cottage inhabited by hobbit Bilbo Baggins. The 600-square-foot retreat behind the owner's Chester County, Pennsylvania, home features a large fireplace, handmade clay-tile roof and a collection of rare books and Tolkien mementos collected over the last 30 years. Keep in mind that everything was built to fit a hobbit, so full-grown humans may have to stoop to get through the circular doorway.
Bilbo Baggins' Hobbit House
Photo courtesy of Anup Shah
While you can't tour the replica hobbit house, the original set for the town of Hobbiton used in the "Lord of the Rings" movies is open to the public in New Zealand.
Grey Gardens
Photo courtesy of Hooked on Houses
The facade of this Falmouth, Massachusetts, house looks just like Grey Gardens, the East Hampton, New York, mansion made famous in a 1975 documentary by the same name chronicling the lives of Jackie Kennedy Onassis' reclusive aunt and cousin, both named Edith Bouvier Beale. The original owner didn't know he was building a copy of a famous home -- he just found a photo of it online and liked it, he told a local newspaper in 2012.
Grey Gardens
Photo courtesy of Taber Andrew Bain
The original Grey Gardens, while in disrepair and filled with debris, cats, raccoons and dirt in the documentary, was purchased in 1979 by the late Washington Post Executive Editor Ben Bradlee and restored. This summer Bradlee's widow, journalist Sally Quinn, made the property available to rent from Memorial Day to Labor Day for $250,000.
Disney's Haunted Mansion
Photo courtesy of Theme Park Connection
If you don't mind sharing your home with a host of ghosts, this one is for you. This 10,000-square-foot New Orleans-style home outside Atlanta was built to the exact dimensions of the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland. It has seven bedrooms, six bathrooms and a three-car garage. It was put up for sale on eBay in 2012 with an asking price of $873,000. It sold in February 2014 for $610,000.
Disney's Haunted Mansion
Photo courtesy of Loren Javier
If you don't have that kind of cash lying around, you can always visit the Disneyland version to hang out with its 999 ghostly residents.
Tara
Photo courtesy of Zillow
This Newport Beach, California, mansion is modeled after Tara, Scarlett O'Hara's childhood Georgia home in "Gone with the Wind," and it has everything a debutante could want. Built in 1990, it includes a grand staircase, hand-painted murals, an elevator, a movie theater, a dining room with seating for 32 guests and 20 garage spaces. The compound also has a workshop, office building and several detached guest apartments. It last sold in 2013 for $10.6 million.
Tara
Photo courtesy of Shay Tressa DeSimone
The original Tara was built on a Hollywood movie set in 1935 and is now housed in pieces in an old dairy barn outside Atlanta, where a local historian hopes to restore it as a tourist attraction. The only piece to be restored so far is the home's front door, now on display at the Margaret Mitchell House.