Lustron houses were a line of prefabricated homes made almost entirely of steel, produced by the Lustron Corporation from 1948 to 1950.
The exterior walls, roof and interior were made of porcelain enameled steel panels. Parts for the kit style houses were produced by assembly line at a factory in Columbus, Ohio and shipped by truck to the buyer's site (around 2,500 homes were erected in 36 states).
Construction took two weeks and the houses cost from $7,000 to $10,000. Around 20,000 orders were received, but most were never delivered before the company went bankrupt in 1950.
Four models were available, including the "Westchester Deluxe" seen here (the deluxe model can be identified by the presence of a bay window in the living room area). This well preserved example located in Minnesota City, MN appears original on the outside with a couple of exceptions: the open porch area around the front door has been enclosed with windows and stonework, and the original tripartite windows have been replaced with a more modern single pane design.
10/12/14
Lustron houses were a line of prefabricated homes made almost entirely of steel, produced by the Lustron Corporation from 1948 to 1950.
The exterior walls, roof and interior were made of porcelain enameled steel panels. Parts for the kit style houses were produced by assembly line at a factory in Columbus, Ohio and shipped by truck to the buyer's site (around 2,500 homes were erected in 36 states).
Construction took two weeks and the houses cost from $7,000 to $10,000. Around 20,000 orders were received, but most were never delivered before the company went bankrupt in 1950.
Four models were available, including the "Westchester Deluxe" seen here (the deluxe model can be identified by the presence of a bay window in the living room area). This well preserved example located in Minnesota City, MN appears original on the outside with a couple of exceptions: the open porch area around the front door has been enclosed with windows and stonework, and the original tripartite windows have been replaced with a more modern single pane design.
10/12/14