America's ugliest mansions

Architectural loveliness may be in the eye of the beholder, but some mansions are just plain ugly. Blots on the countryside, huge and over-the-top mega-homes are now and then a pricey hodgepodge of building styles.

Modern Compound

Beverly Hills, Calif.

With circular walls of glass and tall steel beams, this over-the-top modern mansion dazzles sufficient to make your head spin. At 7,500 square feet, with a seven-car garage, a winch and gated security it looms large on a half-acre lot.

Spaceship House

Golden, Colo.

Feature in Woody Allen’s 1973 science fiction comedy “Sleeper,” this private mansion is ideal ... for aliens. Formally called the “Sculptured House,” the house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Positioned on a mountain west of Denver, the house is recognized nearby as the “Flying Saucer House,” according to Zillow.com it was sold in a foreclosure auction for $1.5 million in 2010.

Concrete Blocks

Huntington, N.Y.

From the front, this concrete-and-cedar-sided manse looks about as attractive as a bomb shelter. The design is so cold it could pass for a storage space unit ... for ice. Planned by architect Charles Gwathmey, the chunky modern house is nestled into a housing hillside, with most of the glass to the rear overlooking woods.

Turret Overload

Wadsworth, Ill.

Those with a liking for turrets might drink in this garish 17,000-square-foot, five-bedroom mansion. The house is scalloped with curved towers that poke out of the bland landscape like a series of windowed silos.

Gas Station Home

Lake Success, N.Y.

With a jumbo portico and a four car garage facing the public space, this mansion might pass for a hotel — or a gas station. But set in a community daringly named Lake Success, how could this six-bedroom current stucco palace on two acres be whatever thing but over the top? It’s on the market for $5,880,000.

America's most beautiful mansions

The Biltmore Mansion in North Carolina

Mansions: They’re wealthy. They’re huge. And their narrations are rife with social drama. No wonder they intrigue our curiosity.

The correct definition of the word “mansion” varies, but in U.S. real estate terms, it’s in general defined as a single-family dwelling of more than 8,000 square feet. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary just calls it “a large and daunting dwelling.” Either way, these generous dwellings are without a doubt some of the most good-looking and celebrated examples of housing architecture.

Lyndhurst, Tarrytown, N.Y.

Sitting on a knoll with a lawn that stretches toward the powerful Hudson River, this Gothic Revival mansion was build in an early Gilded Age style. Designed in 1838 and long-drawn-out in 1865, its turrets and a four-story tower are a compliment to original designer Alexander Jackson Davis. Narrow hallways lead to rooms with vaulted ceilings and pointed domed windows.

Biltmore Mansion, Asheville, N.C.

Constructed by George Washington Vanderbilt II in the style of a chateau, this house is considered one of the most exceptional examples of the Gilded Age. At 175,000 square feet, it is the major in confidence owned house in the United States.

Woolworth Mansion, New York City

This fine neo-French Renaissance mansion was calculated by C.H.P. Gilbert and complete in 1916. Rife with gilding and carved stone, the home makes a alluring first impression. Once inside the entry foyer, visitors are treated to wonderfully rendered floor mosaics, a stained-glass skylight and grand staircase.

Vizcaya, Miami

Bounded by 10 acres of European-inspired gardens and a confidential sculpture garden, this Miami mansion overlooks Biscayne Bay. Finished in 1916, the lavish residence features room after room of complex arches, traditional columns and decorative detail.

2901 Broadway, San Francisco

No, this mansion isn’t in Italy. But suspended on a hilltop in Pacific Heights, the Renaissance-style residence was planned to look that way. Designed in the 1920s for manufacturer Milton S. Ray, the home features an immense leaded-glass window, a impressive welcome hall and a winding marble staircase.