One of the prettiest spots in Texas is the view from a picnic area outside Glen Rose. Or at least it used to be.
I moved away from Texas in the '90s and on revisiting it 25 years later, discovered that mountaintop-removal-to-make-McMansions has now become popular among the state's elite.
Looking to the right from the picnic area, the view looks much as it did 25 years ago, hills and valleys stretching into the distance:
Looking to the left is even more spectacular -- except the vista now includes a large building (click or tap to enlarge photo):
Here is a closeup of the building:
The Google van shot it from a higher angle, showing how prominently it intrudes on the view from the picnic area:
A satellite view shows that the structure is a barn or barn-o-minium within a compound of houses at 2008 County Road 1006:
Here is a wider satellite view, showing how isolated this compound is in a mostly empty landscape, and how it is positioned relative to the picnic area (click or tap to enlarge photo):
The satellite view shows a couple of other houses near route 67, in the middle of the photo. One of these, a McMansion, is also visible from the picnic area:
Could the owners of these buildings have built more discreetly, so their dwellings weren't visible to the plebeians enjoying the commons? Yes, but the whole point of this exercise is to give an extended middle finger to the little people.
Libertarian purists might argue that the commons ends with the rights of private landowners. The question isn't whether you can flaunt your advantages but whether you should do it. People also used to spit into cuspidors -- it's still technically legal, probably.