Yesterday, I pulled off the interstate in Nashville, North Carolina to wait for a phone call from my brother. After sitting around for a few minutes, I decided to drive around Nashville and see what I could find.

And I found a Lustron!

Lustron in Nashville, NC

It’s had a pretty substantial sun room added to the side, but it’s most definitely a Lustron!

And here’s one I found in Irwin, PA.

This Lustron in Irwin had been lovingly cared for!

Perhaps my favorite Lustron is the one I found in Danville, Virginia. This is such a beautiful photo, I can hardly believe that I’m the photographer!  :)  The deep blue skies and blossoming dogwood in the foreground are pretty nice, too.

Lustron in Danville, Virginia

Close-up of the window on Danville's Lustron.

So, what is a Lustron?

It was an all-steel house,  with walls made of 2×2 20-gage metal panels, with a porcelain enamel finish. The roof was porcelain enamel steel, and unlike traditional roofing shingles, has a lifespan of at least 60 years (and perhaps much more).

“Never before has America seen a house like this,” read a 1949 advertisement for the Lustron, also hailed as “the house of the future.”

The modest ranches were designed and created by entrepreneur Carl Strandlunds to help deal with the severe housing shortage after World War II. Unfortunately, Lustrons never became very popular. Three years after the company first started (in 1947), it went into bankruptcy. Sixty years later, there’s still much debate about the reasons for the company’s collapse. The debate over the reasons for Lustron’s demise became a topic for a fascinating documentary.

Fewer than 3,000 Lustrons were created, and offered in pink, blue, brown and yellow.

Quantico, Virginia was home to the largest collection of Lustrons in the country, but those 60 houses were destroyed by our federal “save the spotted chipmunk, who-cares-if-it’s-a-historically-important-house” bureaucrats.

Yup, all those Lustron houses in Quantico are now gone. Some were moved, most were demolished.

On the inside walls of the Lustrons, nails could not be used. Instead, magnets are used to hang pictures. The porcelain enamel finish on the 2×2 panels is tough, which makes re-painting the panels virtually impossible. The Lustron (seen below) in Danville, Virginia was painted, and it’s trying hard to shed this second skin.

Painting a Lustron is akin to painting the top of your grandma’s 1965 Lady Kenmore washing machine. Painting porcelain enamel never ends well.

Lustron was based in Columbus, Ohio and not surprisingly, Columbus has an abundance of Lustrons. These little post-WW2 prefabs were remarkable, strong and long-lasting houses - definitely ahead of their time. Finding this three-bedroom model in Elkins, WV was a special treat, as the three-bedroom Lustrons were very rare.

Lustron Home in Elkins, WV

Close-up of 2x2 metal tiles on Lustron Walls.

Lustron in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The three-bedroom Lustrons were far less common than the two-bedroom Lustron. This one is in very good condition. Photo is courtesy of Rachel Shoemaker and may not be reproduced without permission.

Close-up of Lustron wall and window. Homeowner has done a pretty good job of maintaining the home, with touched-up paint applied to exterior. When the porcelain enamel finish is nicked or chipped, it must be painted to prevent rusting of the steel panels. Photo is courtesy of Rachel Shoemaker and may not be reproduced without permission.

The steel roof on a Lustron outlasts contemporary roofing materials. These "shingles" are now 60 years old and still in excellent condition. Photo is courtesy of Rachel Shoemaker and may not be reproduced without permission.

The next Lustron is in Rocky Mount, NC. It’s been painted beige, but it should be draped in black for this little house should be mourned. The little home is now deceased, but the body hasn’t been buried yet. There is significant putrification occurring.

Very, very sad.

This sad little Lustron appears to have died from carbuncles of the flesh. Lustrons were made with 2x2 20-gage metal panels, with a porcelain enamel coating. Never a good idea to paint a Lustron. There are about 2,500 Lustrons in the country, and they really were ahead of their time. It's heart-wrenching to see one of these remarkable homes abused and abandoned.

Too sad for words.

To learn more, I recommend Tom Fetters’ book, “Lustron Homes.” It can be found at Amazon.com

To read more about Sears Homes, click here.

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Two weeks ago, I drove six hours out of my way (enroute to Elkins, WV) to visit a Sears Magnolia in Irwin, Pennsylvania.

Irwin, it turns out, is not a thriving metropolis but a small town just off the beaten path. However, it does have an Americus, an Alhambra (on the main drag) and a Lewiston. And best of all, it has a Sears Magnolia dressed up in brick.

The Magnolia was the creme de la creme of the Sears kit homes. It was bigger and grander and fancier than any of the other 370 models that Sears offered. You can learn a whole lot more about the Magnolia by clicking here and here.

In short, The Magnolia was Sears’ finest home. And it was also one of the rarest.

For years, we’d heard that there were six Magnolias built in the country. There was one in Nebraska (which burned down many years ago), and one in North Carolina, Alabama, Indiana and Ohio. (Click on the links to read more about those particular houses).

And then in February, I was told about a purported Sears Magnolia in Blacksburg, South Carolina. I put 897 miles on my car that weekend, driving down to Blacksburg to see that house in the flesh. It was close - real close - but it was not a Sears Magnolia. You can read more about that here.

In May, I learned about the seventh Magnolia in Syracuse, New York! So how many Sears Magnolias are there? Perhaps billions and billions and billions.

How delightful is that!?!

And what about our Magnolia in Irwin? Unfortunately, I was not able to get inside despite a lot of serious door-knocking. However, it appears that our wonderful Maggy has been turned into an apartment building.

First, the original catalog image from the 1921 Sears Modern Homes catalog.

Sears Magnolia as seen in the 1921 Sears Modern Homes catalog. The Sears Magnolia was offered from 1918-1922.

Unfortunately, there were many obstacles to a good picture, such as a utility pole and stop sign. This Magnolia looks quite different from the traditional Magnolia, plus the third-floor dormer has a full-size door with coach lights flanking it! The Magnolia typically has a gabled dormer, whereas the Irwin house has a hipped dormer. That's one of about a dozen minor differences between this house (above) and the Sears catalog page (below).

Another view of the Magnolia in Irwin

From the rear, it surely looks like this old house has been turned into several apartments. I hope someone from Irwin will tell me that I'm wrong!

This is another view from another time. This photo was sent to me several years ago by Bob Keeling, who then owned the house. As I recall, he was in the process of selling the house at that time. (Photo courtesy of Bob Keeling)

And here's a picture of the Sears Magnolia in Syracuse! (Photo is courtesy of Mariel Proulx and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.)

Details on the Sears Magnolia's front porch. Notice the many differences between this porch (shown in this catalog page) and the house in Irwin!

Close-up of the house itself (1921 catalog)

A beautiful Sears Magnolia in Canton, Ohio

Sears Magnolia in Benson, NC.

Sears Magnolia in South Bend. (Photo is copyright 2012 James Layne and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.)

The Magnolia in Alabama is also not a spot-on match to the original catalog image. Most obvious is that attic dormer, which is much simpler than the Magnolia dormer. Yet this house in Piedmont Alabama is a Sears Magnolia.

To learn more about the Sears Magnolia, click here.

To learn about Wardway Homes (sold by Montgomery Ward), click here!

To buy Rose’s book, click here.

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