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Lustron Porcelain Houses
5/1/2006
ME: "Porcelain houses?"
MOM: "Yes, they made them of porcelain. There are several in the Barcroft neighborhood, but most people have coverd them up with vinyl sidings or something."
ME: "Porcelain? Very strange."
On the drive home after having the above conversation with my mother I was trying to imagine large toilet-like homes nestled into a suburban cul-de-sac. Who the hell made porcelain houses and how could I have not noticed such a thing before?
It turns out that the houses in question were made during the 40s and look far more conventional than one might imagine. They were called the Lustron home (a name guaranteed to make any modern 13-year-old snicker) and were the brainchild of Carl Strandlund. The homes themselves were:
- 1 story ranch style.
- All-metal construction coated with durable porcelain.
- Available in grey, blue, green, yellow and pink.
- Featured cool built-in cabinets and shelves.
- Came in 2 or 3 bedroom layouts.
- Had about 1,000 square feet of living space.
- were about three times stronger that a traditional stick built home.
- were advertised as being rodent, fire, lightening, and rust proof.
About 2,500 of them were built before the company went bankrupt. I located a couple on the internet and then biked about 10 miles over to see them. I can't say they're they type of place I'd want to live in, but they are interesting. Sadly I couldn't get to see the inside where some of the more unusual features are. Interestingly, the Quantico Marine base just recently gave away about 60 of them to anyone who could pay to have one moved.
Blue Lustron 1 |
Blue Lustron 2 |
Blue Lustron 3 |
Grey Lustron 1 |
Grey Lustron 2 |
Grey Lustron 3 |
Grey Lustron 4 |
Grey Lustron 5 |
Links
- http://www.piranhagraphix.com/Lustron/
- http://www.oldhouseweb.com/stories/Detailed/12270.shtml
- http://lustron.org/
- http://members.tripod.com/~Strandlund/index-5.html
5/1/2006 | Permanent Link
