After World War II, the United States entered a period of remarkable prosperity. As soldiers returned home, many set their sights on the suburbs. Thankfully, the Lustron Corporation emerged to meet the booming demand for affordable housing. Even though the company is long gone today, its distinctive steel homes still have a devoted, almost cult-like following. I’ve written about them in Muncie, Anderson, Richmond, Straughn, and Tipton, but now it’s Marion’s turn.
Lustron homes were like enormous model kits. They were modular houses made completely of enameled steel and manufactured in a former airplane factory in Columbus, Ohio. Designed to be affordable and efficient, the houses were shipped out by truck and assembled on site atop a concrete slab by local crews. Unfortunately, building one wasn’t exactly a breeze: each Lustron house consisted of more than 3,300 individual parts1!
Once workers assembled the steel walls and trusses, they affixed porcelain steel panels to the frame with screws. Unique joints and gaskets guaranteed a weatherproof seal. Lustron proudly promoted its homes as maintenance-free, boasting they resisted “weather, wear, and time2.” Company literature further lauded the homes as fireproof, lightning-proof, rodent-proof, and rustproof3. From 1948 to 1950, nearly 2,500 of the steel marvels were erected.
Lustron offered four distinct models of homes: the Westchester Standard, the Westchester Deluxe, the Newport, and the Meadowbrook. Available in pastel finishes like Surf Blue, Dove Gray, Maize Yellow, and Desert Tan, the homes ranged from 713 to 1,140 square feet. Most models featured an integrated porch and a trellis adorned with a distinctive squiggle4.
Inside, each Lustron home featured metal walls and ceilings. Want to hang a painting? Use magnets! Need to clean house? Use a hose and some automotive wax! Many featured seven closets, pocket doors, and a weird dishwasher-washing machine-sink combination. Westchester Deluxe models, the most popular by far, even featured built-in metal bookcases, china cabinets, and vanities5.
Lustron’s promotional promises weren’t just marketing fluff- they’ve held up surprisingly well. Nearly eighty years later, five of the company’s homes are still standing in Marion. The first one I spotted was tucked along South Washington Street, just northeast of the junction where State Road 37 meets Highway 9. It’s a 1949 Westchester Deluxe in Desert Tan, now partially hidden behind a row of overgrown hedges.
Marion’s second Lustron house isn’t far from the first, just about a mile north on Gallatin Street. Built in 1948, the home is another Westchester Deluxe in that warm Desert Tan shade. Today, it looks well cared for, thanks in part to a tidy garage addition and a row of neatly trimmed shrubs out front. Decades have passed, but the steel survivor holds its own.
The third Lustron house in Marion sits on East Seventh Street. Built in 1947, the Maize Yellow Westchester Deluxe once gleamed with promise. Today, several windows are boarded up and security cameras keep watch over the property. Despite that, my Mom and I noted it seemed to be in the best condition of the three we’d visited so far.
Marion’s fourth Lustron house -at least if you’re heading south to north- was built in 1949. Like the others, it follows the Westchester Deluxe plan. This time, the home is clad in Dove Gray panels. What makes the house stand out, though, is its setting. This Lustron sits right in the heart of a classic neighborhood, surrounded by towering, turn-of-the-century homes with all the trim and woodwork you’d expect. As Mom and I pulled up, we couldn’t help but wonder what had been torn down to make room for it.
Marion’s final Lustron house sits on Wabash Avenue -State Road 15- behind a curtain of trees and bushes. This 1949 Westchester Deluxe in Desert Tan is perched along one of the city’s busiest highways, just past Marion’s commercial district. That makes it tricky to photograph in and of itself, but a few additions and some modern siding have conspired to disguise it, too. If it weren’t for the telltale window layout, you might never guess it was a Lustron! I was lucky to get this snap of it.
The number of Lustron homes in Marion is a testament to the concept’s promise, but the company’s journey came to an abrupt halt. Despite ample funding and widespread acclaim, production fell significantly short of its ambitious targets. Lustron declared bankruptcy in 1950 after only delivering about 5% of the homes it promised. The Lustron Corporation’s downfall was influenced by escalating material costs and opposition from the conventional construction sector6.
Nevertheless, about 1,500 of the homes it constructed still exist today! One even serves as the focal point of the Ohio History Center’s 1950s exhibit in Columbus. Nearly seventy-five years after they were built, I’m glad that Marion’s colorful Lustrons still stand in testament to the spirit of innovation and optimism that gripped the United States in the years following World War II.
Sources Cited
1 Davis, R. (1993, March 7). Some Lustrous ‘dream homes’ remain intact. The Muncie Star. p. 3.
2 Compact, Beautiful Lustron Homes: Newport Two-Bedroom and Three-Bedroom Sizes.” Lustron Corporation [Columbus]. Brochure.
3 Emmons, B. (2008, September 13). ‘The house America was waiting for’. The South Bend tribune. p. D1.
4 Halliwell, A. (2018, November 8). The Luster of Lustron. The Rochester Post- Bulletin. Web. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
5 Heuchert, E. (n.d.). Lustron Homes. Minneapolis Historical [Minneapolis]. Web. Retrieved March 13, 2024.
6 Reiss, R. (1978, July 23). When Lustron Lost its Luster. The Columbus Dispatch.
I love this series! If you were curious, the car on the left of the factory photo is a 1947-49 Studebaker, which advertised itself as “First by far with a postwar car”. It goes perfectly with those optimistic guys in front of the factory brimming with promise.
It looked studebakerish from the little I could see. I love that slogan!
This series has been fun. I may hit Kokomo or Huntington up next. Maybe Greenfield- I think there are a few there.
I remember spotting one Lustron back where I used to live, as it was down the street from my aunt. My dad claimed that they were fallout-resistant or something to that affect, but I never heard that claim otherwise.
I’ve never heard that claim either! Time for some investigating.
The likely scenario that I can see is that some Lustron salesperson made this claim since they’re metal than wood or brick. But I doubt they sent one to a Nevada test site or the like.
Would be cool if they did, though!