About 2,500 of these porcelain-steel  homes were produced in America between 1949 and 1950 by the Lustron Corporation in Columbus, Ohio. An enormous facility housed the nine-mile Lustron assembly line. The  ranch style homes usually had two or three bedrooms. Modern appliances including dishwasher were included.

Heating was provided with a ceiling radiant system. They cost about $10,000 - not including the lot.  The homes were shipped on a flatbed and required 350 man hours to assemble. Most were built on a concrete base. The porcelain coated exterior panels came in four colors: 'Maize Yellow', 'Dove gray' 'Surf Blue' and 'Desert Tan'.

 

The Lustron Truck Arrives With A New Home In Williamstown, Mass. 1949
Photo Courtesy of Peter Rogers & Paige Carter

The durable steel homes have survived well into the 21st Century with  minimal maintenance. All interior and exterior panels were of porcelainized steel construction. They were designed for indefinite service without painting. The roof shingles are porcelain-coated steel as well. After 50 years of service, most Lustron roofs have never leaked! Carl Strandlund, an engineer noted for his war time metal working innovations,  was the creator of Lustron Homes.

 

 

 

Carl Strandlund
(1899-1974 )
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

" The House America's Been Waiting For " 
(From 1940's Lustron Advertisement)

 

 

 

Welcome To Lustron Connection . . . Pictures & Stories of Lustron Homes From Across America . . .The Preserved, The Modified, The Forgotten Lustron Connection has been produced from this Lustron Home, serial #1692, in Loudonville, New York since 1999. Each Lustron home has had a unique life experience. Some were well maintained, some neglected, some modified, some preserved, and some demolished. This voluntary website is a home for all Lustrons, whatever their fate. Curious people from 'round the world visit Lustron Connection to see the unusual metal homes with porcelain steel walls and ceilings. Carl Lustrand's concept of a steel home is alive today. Robust steel homes are being built and installed in hurricane-prone coastal areas of the USA. The Lustron pictures and stories you see here are sent in by people from around the USA. There is room for more. In fact, our photo collection still has gaps to be filled. We need Florida, Texas and Arkansas photos. And we are looking for interior images and vintage photos from the 1950s and 1960s. If you have a recollection about a Lustron experience, these are welcome too. Our stories pages are very popular with visitors. If you are looking for the original Lustron Connection website: http://home.earthlink.net/~ronusny/, this is it. In 2007, it became www.lustronconnection.org. The "Lustron Registry" has been closed due to complications when properties sell and because another website has created a superior database. (See LustronPreservation.org)