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The United States entered a prolonged period of prosperity in the years following World War II. Soldiers coming home set their sights on the suburbs, and the Lustron Corporation of Columbus, Ohio, was established to meet their demand for new homes. Lustron houses retain an impressive following nearly eighty years after they were first built, and I found one yesterday in Tipton. 

Lustron Corporation was part of the Chicago Vitreous Enamel Product Company. It appointed Carl Strandlund, a Swedish-born inventor to lead the organization’s efforts to build modular homes of enameled steel in an old airplane factory. The homes were inexpensive, arrived by truck, and were erected atop a concrete slab by a local team of builders. It was a tricky job: each Lustron house used more than 3,300 individual components¹!

Lustron homes came in four colors and floorplans. Tipton’s appears to be a Westchester Deluxe in Surf Blue. Every element, inside and out, is steel!  its owners used magnets to hang paintings and cleaned house with a hose and carnauba wax. Beyond the convenience, the Westchester Deluxe featured seven closets, pocket doors, and built-in metal bookcases, china cabinets, and vanities².

Tipton’s Lustron home was built in 1950³. What sets it apart from many of its peers is its Lustron garage, which the company offered as part of an optional builder’s package. Instead of a steel skeleton, the garages were constructed with Lustron’s enameled steel panels mounted onto a traditional wooden frame. 

Unfortunately, Lustron Corporation didn’t last long after its house in Tipton was assembled. Despite ample funding and widespread acclaim, production fell significantly short of the company’s ambitious targets. Lustron declared bankruptcy later that year and only delivered about 2,500 homes, a scant 5% of what it promised. It’s remarkable that so many remain in Indiana! Read everything I’ve ever written about them here.

Sources Cited
1 Davis, R. (1993, March 7). Some Lustrous ‘dream homes’ remain intact. The Muncie Star. p. 3.
2  Heuchert, E. (n.d.). Lustron Homes. Minneapolis Historical [Minneapolis]. Web. Retrieved March 13, 2024. 
3 Tipton County Office of Information & GIS Services. (2025). Parcel ID: 80-11-11-518-029.000-002. Tipton County, Indiana Assessor. map, Tipton, IN.