Yet Another Museum Visit!

When I use the word "Lustron", what do you think of?  Let me give you some context: think houses.

On Thursday, July 31, Hubs and I visited the Lustron Home exhibit at the Ohio Historical Society.  This is something that has been on my to-do list since I first learned about it.  There is actually an entire home on display, and the best thing about it is that visitors can walk through the house and open drawers and touch things.  It isn't a traditional museum exhibit that is hands-off.

Here is a photo of the front of the house that is on exhibit:

Here is what it might have looked like "in the wild" so to speak:

The Lustron Corporation was here in Columbus in a former airplane factory and was only in business from about 1948-1950.  Unfortunately, they couldn't keep up with orders and the company folded after having only built about 2500 homes nationwide.  They were advertised as the "new age" home of the future.  That they were virtually maintenance free was the main selling point.  The house was made out of steel panels, inside and out, and included many built-ins as well.  The exterior came in 4 color options:  gray, blue, yellow and pink.  

Here are some sample living rooms:

At the Ohio Historical Museum, the Lustron House display was complete with a "homeowner" dressed in a 1950 outfit.  She talked about the rooms as we toured the house, and also explained the fate of the company.  Here is the dining room of the exhibit house:

And then the kitchen:

My favorite thing in the kitchen was the combination dish washer/clothes washer.  This was located to the left of the sink.  A lid came off the top, and then the home owner would change out the drum inside - putting in either a washing machine drum, or a dish washing drum and rack.  Here's an ad for this feature:

I was surprised by how big the rooms were inside.  From the floor plans on display, the houses seemed like they would be very small and cramped.  There were 2 bedroom and 3 bedroom models available, and I think they all had 1 bathroom.  Bedrooms had built in closets with sliding doors, and the master had a built-in vanity as well.  There isn't much storage, and they didn't build garages, so if you wanted a garage, you had to have it built separately.  The houses were actually a little more expensive than a traditional home, which was one of the negatives.  

Here is the floor plan of the model we toured:

Here is a photo of a standard bathroom:

Here are links to a couple of articles about the homes and the exhibit:

At Home - Living in an Icon

New Exhibit - 1950s

If you find yourself in Columbus with some time on your hands,  I recommend a visit to the Ohio Historical Museum while the 1950s exhibit is still on.  It is a Blast from the Past, that's for sure!

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to feed the fish!

:)Amy