Most Midwestern cities boast an impressive array of old houses, but few capture my attention quite like a Lustron. Built in the years following World War II, Lustron houses echo the futuristic dreams of the past while enduring as symbols of innovation! Believe it or not, Anderson, Indiana, is home to two of them.

After the war ended, returning soldiers drove demand for new homes in the suburbs. Once a freeze on extraneous construction was lifted¹, the Chicago Vitreous Enamel Product Company established the Lustron Corporation to supply the accelerating demand for new housing. Led by inventor Carl Strandlund and backed by government funding, Lustron began producing modular homes of enameled steel from an old airplane factory in Columbus, Ohio.

Lustron houses were among the earliest mass-produced homes. Priced between $7,000 and $9,000², they offered significant cost savings compared to traditional houses! After partial assembly at the plant, more than 3,300 individual components were trucked to their destination³. There, local builders took over and put the pieces together on site.

The process was meant to be quick⁴, but sometimes pieces went missing in transit⁵. Nevertheless, seeing a completed Lustron for the first time in 1948 probably felt like stumbling across a flying saucer! Every component was steel, and the company proclaimed them resistant to “weather, wear, and time⁶!”

Lustron offered four distinct models of homes -the Westchester Standard, the Westchester Deluxe, the Newport, and the Meadowbrook- in four pastel finishes called Surf Blue, Dove Gray, Maize Yellow, and Desert Tan. The homes ranged from 713 to 1,140 square feet. Each featured Lustron’s iconic enameled steel panels and squiggly trellis⁷. 

Lustron homes were designed to maximize space. Many featured seven closets, pocket doors, and a weird dishwasher-washing machine-sink contraption built by Thor. Westchester Deluxe models even featured built-in metal bookcases, china cabinets, and vanities⁸! Need to hang a painting? Use a magnet! Have to tidy up for guests? Dig out the hose and some carnauba wax!

Nearly 2,500 Lustron houses were erected from 1948 to 1950. After I found six in Delaware County, reader decotriumph pointed this one out in Anderson. The home sits on West 11th Street near Edgewood, just down Arrow Avenue from where I work. It took me three minutes to drive there on my lunch break. 

The Westchester Deluxe model was built in 1949⁹. Believe it or not, it’s the same one featured in the Anderson Herald ad near the top of the post! It’s been painted since then, but a Google Street View image from seventeen years ago reveals its original color, Dove Gray. I was surprised to see a realty sign in the front yard as I passed- as of this writing, the home is for sale.

After I returned to the office, some digging revealed another Lustron home on Vinyard Street in North Anderson. I’m surprised I never noticed it! Another two-bedroom Westchester Deluxe built in 1949¹⁰, it sits just east of Community Hospital. 

The house is pretty close to Maize Yellow, but it’s certainly been repainted: decotriumph remembers it as white! At least its distinctive trellis remains intact. Only three of the eight Lustron houses I’ve been to recently still feature them. 

As far as I know, the homes on 11th Street and Vineyard are the only Lustron houses in Madison County. The concept was promising, but Lustron’s journey abruptly ended. Despite generous funding and widespread praise, production fell far short of its ambitious targets. Lustron Corporation declared bankruptcy in 1950 after delivering five percent of the houses it promised. Factors like escalating material costs¹¹ and opposition from the conventional construction sector¹² played pivotal roles in the company’s demise.

Lustron Corporation may not have lasted long, but its houses sure have: about 1,500 remain across the country today¹³. One even serves as the centerpiece of the Ohio History Center’s 1950s exhibit! Seventy-five years after they were built, Anderson’s pair of hardy examples still stand in testament to Carl Strandlund’s innovative design.

Read more about the Lustron exhibit at the Ohio History Center here. See a variety of Lustron houses in the Indianapolis suburb of Broad Ripple here.

Sources Cited
1 HUD’s Historical Timeline 1930-2020 (n.d.).Office of Policy Development and Research. The United States Department
2 Potter, B. (2021, March 31). The Lustron Home. Construction Physics. Web. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
3 Danaparamita, A. (2013, July 29). Lustrons: Building an American Dream House. The National Trust for Historic Preservation [Washington, D.C.]. Web. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
4 Mitchell, R. (1991). Whatever Happened to Lustron Homes? APT Bulletin. No. 2, Volume 3.
5 Davis, R. (1993, March 7). Some Lustrons ‘dream homes’ remain intact. The Muncie Star. p. 3.
6 “Compact, Beautiful Lustron Homes: Newport Two-Bedroom and Three-Bedroom Sizes.” Lustron Corporation [Columbus]. Brochure. 
7 Halliwell, A. (2018, November 8). The Luster of Lustron. The Rochester Post- Bulletin. Web. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
8 Heuchert, E. (n.d.). Lustron Homes. Minneapolis Historical [Minneapolis]. Web. Retrieved March 13, 2024. 
9 Madison County Office of Information & GIS Services. (2024). Parcel ID: 48-11-14-201-189.000-003. Madison County, Indiana Assessor. map, Anderson, IN.
10 Madison County Office of Information & GIS Services. (2024). Parcel ID: 48-11-01-203-033.000-003. Madison County, Indiana Assessor. map, Anderson, IN.
11 Martinez Euklidiadas, M. (2023, April 4). Lustron, The Failed Initiative To Create Prefabricated Homes Made Entirely From Steel. Tomorrow City. Web. Retrieved March 14, 2024. 
12 Reiss, R. (1978, July 23). When Lustron Lost its Luster. The Columbus Dispatch. 
13 About (n.d.). The Lustron Locator. Web. Retrieved March 22, 2024.