Nokohaha

5015 Nicollet Avenue South A Nice Warm Steel House on a Cold Winter Day

Lustron houses are prefabricated porcelain-enameled steel homes developed after the second world war in response to a housing shortage. The low maintenance porcelain (vitreous enamel) finish was expected to attract returning GI’s and new families who might not have the time or interest in repairing and painting conventional siding and plaster. In the beginning 1947, the Lustron Corporation received a $12.5-million Reconstruction Finance Corporation loan to finanace mass-produced prefabricated homes that featured enamel-coated steel panels.

Led by Chicago industrialist and inventor , Lustron offered a home that would “defy weather, wear, and time.” Strandlund achieved renown working with the construction prefabricated metal gas stations. There’s a fine example of this in the converted filling station that is now Liberty Frozen Custard on Nicollet Avenue.

4900 with addition

Strandlund’s Lustron Corporation set out to construct 15,000 homes in 1947 with plans for 30,000 in 1948.From its plant, the former Curtiss-Wright factory, in Columbus, Ohio, at least 3,000 Lustron homes were constructed between 1948 and 1950.[4] The houses sold for $8,500 to $9,500, which was about 25 percent less than conventional construction. Lustron’s price crept up quickly and by November 1949, they were selling for $10,500.

4900 Cedar Ave. eight years later.

Most of Lustron’s houses were constructed in the United States, but at least a few were used in Venezuela to house families of oil industry employees. Billed as a way to maximize pleasure and minimize work, Lustron advertising claimed that the Lustron home would create a “new and richer experience for the entire family,” where “Mother . . . has far more hours,” the “youngsters . . . have fewer worries,” and there would be “far more leisure for Dad.”

4900 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis, MN in 2002

Prefabricated housing had existed before the Lustron, but it was Lustron’s promises of assembly-line efficiency and modular construction that set it apart from its competitors. The homes were designed by Morris Beckman of Chicago firm Beckman and Blass and may have been loosely based on designs for the Cemesto houses in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Lustrons had porcelain-enameled steel panels inside and out, as well as steel framing.
Lustron homes were usually built on concrete slab foundations with no basement. However, about 40 existing Lustrons have basements. Their sturdy steel frame was constructed on-site by a team of local workers who assembled the house piece-by-piece from a special Lustron Corporation delivery truck. The assembly team, who worked for the local builder-dealer followed a special manual, and were supposed to complete a house in 360 hours.

Steps up to 5055 Nicollet

5055 Nicollet Ave shoeing sunroom

There were eight exterior colors: “Surf Blue,” “Blue-green,” “Dove Gray,” “Maize Yellow,” “Desert Tan,” Green, Pink, and White. Window surrounds were primarily ivory-colored. Interiors were designed with an eye toward the modern age, space-saving, and ease of cleaning. All Lustrons had metal-paneled interior walls. To maximize space, all interior rooms and closets featured pocket doors. All models featured metal cabinetry, a service and storage area, and metal ceiling tiles. In the Westchester Deluxe models, the living room and master bedrooms featured built-in wall units. As an added option, customers were presented with the unique Thor-brand combination clothes- and dish-washer, which incorporated the kitchen sink.

There were two major window types in Lustron homes: “tripartite” and casement. The tripartite consisted of a central light flanked by two four-light casement windows. Three-light and/or square aluminum casements with interior screens were standard on all Lustrons. Add-on storm windows were available for residents in colder climates. The roof likewise consisted of enameled-steel tiles, which were installed shingle-style. The front and rear doors featured a single light of translucent, rippled glass.

5021 Nicollet

In most models, the homes were heated with an oil burning furnace that directed hot air into an enclosed space above the metal ceilings. The walls contained a one inch blanket of fiberglass wool insulation. Perhaps the most notable Lustron feature is the zig-zag downspout accent on the buildings’ front and rear corners. In the two-bedroom Westchester models, the downspout pillar doubles as a support for the open porch.

Lovely Yellow Lusron

The Lustron Corporation declared bankruptcy in 1950, despite being an extremely well-funded, well-publicized, government-supported enterprise manufacturing a desperately needed product. Production delays, the lack of a viable distribution strategy, and the escalating prices for the finished product all contributed to the failure. Additionally, local zoning codes also played a part: in Columbus, for example, an ordinance prohibited homes with steel chimneys. There may be some evidence to suggest an organized effort from the existing housing industry to stop Strandlund,

5047 Nicollet

5047 Nicollet Ave

About 2,000 Lustron homes are still in existence in 36 states. Many have been modified with additions, remodeled kitchens, vinyl windows, composite roofs, new heating systems, sheet rock interior walls, painted exteriors, and siding. A small group of Lustron owners are preserving the original condition of their homes and are urging others to do the same, though very few entirely original Lustron homes exist. Over time, Lustron owners often removed the “Thor” brand combination washing machine/dish washer, and in cold regions, the ceiling’s radiant heat systems were often replaced. In 2006, a Lustron home from Arlington, Virginia, was painstakingly disassembled, labeled and put into storage. It may someday be reconstructed on a new site where it can be preserved.

5027 Nicollet Lustron

5027 Nicollet

The largest assembly of Lustrons in one geographic location was in Quantico, Virginia, where 60 were installed at the U.S. Marine Corps military base. All Westchester Deluxe models, they came in “Surf Blue,” “Maize Yellow,” and pink, the last of which was decidedly unpopular among some military families. In January 2006, it was announced that the homes, which had grown “too small for most families,” would be eliminated from base housing and would be given away. Fifty-eight of Quantico’s Lustrons were offered for free (with an application and $8,000 deposit) in 2006, yet only one individual came forward and acquired a home, which was disassembled and moved to storage in Delaware. Twenty-three of Quantico’s Lustrons were demolished in 2006, and an additional thirty-four homes were razed in 2007. The two remaining homes at the base are on the National Register of Historic Places, and are currently used as maintenance buildings.

5009 Nicollet Ave.

5009 Nicollet

Demolition continues to threaten Lustrons where rising property values attract buyers who desire larger homes of modern construction. Other major threats to Lustron homes’ integrity include: severe weather (tornadoes, hurricanes), vehicular or other impact, and lack of local zoning/preservation/aesthetic legislation.

Lustron Garage behind 4916 Cedar

Lustron offered two garage models, the “G-1″ and “G-2,” which were available in the same colors as the houses. The garage was most often constructed with wood framing[16], Lustron panel siding, and Lustron steel roof tiles. Lustron also provided carports and awnings…

4916 Cedar Ave

31st Avenue Lustron between 52nd and 53rd

The promise of a home that never needs painting or maintenance has been somewhat validated after over 55 years of service. The enamel steel roof “shingles” are still keeping many Lustron residents in the dry after five decades of no maintenance. Several homes feature exterior wall panels that never needed painting are intact and rust-free. Historically, enamel metal objects have been known to survive over one hundred years.

other Minneapolis Area Lustrons Include
2436 Mount View
2820 Roosevelt St NE
3959 Yates Ave N in Robbinsdale

There are 18 Lustrons in Minnesota, 119 in Wisconsin and 150 in Iowa.

Lustron Links:

Lustron Photo Page
Lustron Connection
Lustron Preservation

sources: Wikipedia, Fascinatum

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