Now You See It, Now You Don't!

TellZall's object for February is Lustron, The House of Steel.
At the end of World War II, returning soldiers wanted nothing more than to get back to a normal life - to have a good job, start or continue a family, and own their own homes. A severe housing shortage, however, plagued the United States. And building traditional houses with wooden frames would take too long. In addition, Americans had just been victorious in the largest war in history, and part of their success had been based on the ability to produce large numbers of boats, tanks, airplanes, and other things utilizing mass-production techniques. Perhaps the same systems could be utilized to solve the housing shortage.

Businessman Carl Strandlund took up the challenge by proposing a mass-produced prefabricated, porcelain-enameled, steel house built on an assembly line, transported to the housing site on a special truck, and assembled in a matter of days. With the support of veterans groups, he received millions of dollars in federal loans to establish his factory, which he modeled after General Motors and Ford. The new Lustron Corporation leased the former Curtiss-Wright aircraft factory located adjacent to the Port Columbus, Ohio, airport. The government also allocated the new firm a generous supply of still-rationed steel for its enterprise.

The new factory featured twenty-two miles of conveyor belts and employed some three thousand workers. Huge hydraulic presses stamped out steel panels, which were coated with a ceramic enamel that was baked in special ovens. The houses featured a novel combination clothes and dish washer as well as heavy (for the time) insulation. The roof and gutters were also porcelain enameled steel, ensuring a long, maintenance-free life. Shelves, cabinets, and chests of drawers, also of steel, were built in. Even the interior walls were steel, and magnets were used to hang pictures. Several models of home were available, and all were rather small (1,000 square feet) one-floor plans.

The first house came off the assembly line in March 1948. At peak production, twenty-six units were produced each day, far short of the fifty needed to break even and the one hundred per day envisioned by Strandlund. Lustron encountered serious production and financial problems almost immediately. The cost of establishing the factory exceeded estimates, and the production cost of houses soared. Lustron dealers across the country faced building-code restrictions that often prevented sales, slow Federal Housing Administration financing procedures, and the high cost of purchasing lots, pouring foundations, and supplying utilities. In addition, although Lustron houses were advertised as competitive with other tract houses, they were not; the company never reached the numbers needed to lower costs. Consequently Lustrons were beyond the reach of many first-time buyers. And, many buyers worried about going with a new technology for the biggest purchase they would ever make.

Unable to repay its loans, Lustron officials closed the factory in June 1950. A total of some 2,500 Lustron houses had been sold and built in thirty-six states. From 1945 to 1948, while Lustron was busy getting government financing, establishing its factory, and tinkered with novel production technology, conventional builders erected some two million houses and apartments nationwide. Lustron had missed the peak demand of the housing boom following the end of the war.

Today, one can find numerous Lustron houses around Ohio, and even beyond. Most are in remarkably good condition. Their owners have had little or no exterior maintenance expense for more than half a century. In addition, many have found the little steel houses wonderful places to live - and surefire conversation pieces.

Additional Information:
http://www.lustron.org/
http://home.earthlink.net/~ronusny/
http://www.ohiohistory.org/
http://www.washingtonpost.com/