Plenty of Midwestern towns are full of charming old houses, but few ring out like a Lustron. The post–World War II homes were born from a futuristic vision that promised innovation, efficiency, and a new way of living! Made entirely of porcelain-coated steel, Lustron houses still look like something out of a dream from 1949. Greenfield, Indiana, is lucky enough to have two of them.
After World War II 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 its modular homes in 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 dwellings! 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 the late 1940s probably felt like stumbling across a spaceship! Every component, inside and out, was steel. The company proclaimed them resistant to “weather, wear, and time6.”
Greenfield’s southernmost Lustron sits on State Street near a Village Pantry convenience store. The home, a Westchester Deluxe in Desert Tan, was built in 19517. That’s much later than most Lustrons were erected, but the house still features most of its original character aside from its missing squiggly trellis.
Greenfield’s second Lustron home stands on East Street. Data from the Hancock County assessor indicates the Maize Yellowhouse was put up in 19578! Newspaper articles, however, show it being built in 19499. The building’s been expanded over the years with a garage, what I imagine to be a mudroom, and an enclosed porch. Still, its Lustron layout is still apparent thanks to its roofline and window configuration.
The two Lustron homes still standing in Greenfield are a testament to the concept’s promise. Unfortunately, the company’s journey came to an abrupt halt. Despite ample funding and widespread acclaim, production fell far short of its ambitious targets. Influenced by escalating material costs and opposition from the conventional construction sector10, Lustron declared bankruptcy in 1950 after only delivering about 5% of the homes it promised.
Nevertheless, about 1,500 of the homes it constructed still exist today! I’ve written about Lustron houses in Anderson, Marion, Muncie, Richmond, Straughn, and Tipton. It’s hard to believe I’ve been to nearly all of them in East-Central Indiana! Still, one remains in the tiny Hancock County community of Wilkinson, it seems, and I’m heading there next.
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 Hancock County Office of Information & GIS Services. (2025). Parcel ID: 30-11-05-400-015.000-009. Hancock County, Indiana Assessor. map, Greenfield, IN.
8 Hancock County Office of Information & GIS Services. (2025). Parcel ID: 30-07-32-102-005.001-009. Hancock County, Indiana Assessor. map, Greenfield, IN.
9 Modern Magic (1949, June 2). The Greenfield Republican. p. 5.
10 Reiss, R. (1978, July 23). When Lustron Lost its Luster. The Columbus Dispatch.
I’ve posted on your Lustron stories before, so forgive me if I repeat myself.
I find these houses very interesting. When I lived in Arlington Hts, IL there were 2 within a few blocks of our home – the wife and I didn’t know what they were but we called them the ’tile houses’ because from the street they looked to be composed of ceramic tiles.
The Lustron story is quite amazing, and its too bad the company didn’t last longer.
There’s a list on wikipedia of many (not all) Lustron houses – I noted a large number are in Indiana. Don’t know where you are in that state, or how far you are from the Chicago area, but an entire neighborhood of them is located on Stonegate Circle in Lincolnshire, IL, just off Rt 22 (Half Day Road).
The wiki list is definite not complete, I’m familiar with 2 in Arlington Hts, IL and one in Mexico, MO that are not on it.
Best of luck in your travels and research!
Thanks, Chad! I’m in the eastern part of the state, about an hour northeast of the heart of Indianapolis. I’d love to see the ones on Stonegate Circle some day.