3014 N 83RD ST

3014 N 83RD ST

Milwaukee

Milwaukee

1948

house

Lustron

Steel Frame

Porcelainized Enamel

Lustron Corporation

No

The Lustron Homes are a rather non-descript ranch style dwelling. (This could be one of the first homes that the term "ranch" is used as a housing type that would become synonymous with suburban tract housing of the 1950's and '60's.) Significant to its construction is that each unit utilized between 10 and 11 tons of steel in its fabricated panels and components. Each structure featured two bedrooms with built-in vanity, bookcases, washer, dishwasher, a radiant heat system, and insulated with fiberglass. The already plain exterior was not enhanced by the use of sickly pale colors ( yellow, blue, green, and pink) for the wall panels.

HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE:

The Lustron Corporation was organized in 1946 as one of the many possible solutions for the post war housing shortage. Headed by Cark Strandlund, the corporation was to receive loans from the (RFC) Reconstruction Finance Corporation for acquisition of a site, materials, and project development. The selling of stock and soliciting of private monies was to be an important part of completing the initial investment. This portion of the funding agreement was not carried out to its fullest potential, and even after additional RFC loans were granted, Lustron Corporation filed bankruptcy in 1951.

The problems that plagued Lustron could be seen as typical but might have been averted with more logical planning and forethought. First, the site was to be leased from an existing government agency defense plant. The original site in Chicago was denied and the operation was moved to the Curtiss-Wright Plant in Columbus, Ohio. Secondly, each unit required between 10 and 11 tons of steel for its construction, which was six times that of conventional home building. The problem here was the scarcity of steel which was under strict allocation by the (OIC) Office of Industry Cooperation. For 1948, the OIC allocated only 58,000 tons which would result in the production of 30,000 homes annually. By August, 1948, only seven model homes had been built. In total, there were considerable difficulties with cost and distribution. Originally, each home was to cost $7,000. By 1949, they had risen to $11,000. The selling of the homes was through local dealers who had to acquire lots, pay for improvements, and build the foundation. That meant that for each unit sold, the dealer had to have between $50,000 and $100,000 of working capital for each structure sold. The homes could not be bought individually but in lots.

In many cities, municipal building codes prevented their construction and from 1946 to 1949, only 2,000 Lustron Homes were built. This attempt at solving the housing shortage was a dismal failure in early fabricated construction. With only so few built out of the thousands projected, a Lustron Home is a rare site to be seen.

SOURCES:

'Prefabs:Wyatt's choice', "Newsweek", 28:76, December 2, 1946. 'Cash for Lustron', "Time", 49:88, February 10, 1947. 'Help for Lustron', "Time", 52:65-6, August 2, 1948. 'Houses Delivered to Your Lot', "Business Week", pp. 42-44, October 16, 1948. 'Bathtub Blues', "Time", 54:55, July 4, 1949. 'That Lustron Affair', "Fortune", 40:92-94, November, 1949. 'Remnants of Lustron Dream', "Business Week", p. 23, July 21, 1951.

.

Not Listed