Thanks, -Rick

I am trying to track down the magazine so I can add more pictures or go by the house again.

There’s also a good series of articles posted here

I’m a Lustron owner in western Massachusetts & an active member of the online Lustron community. Also working with the National Trust & various other local groups committed to preserving Lustrons around the country. (Check out latest issue of Preservation Magazine.)

For a great overview of Lustron’s intriguing history, take a look at the recent documentary [or better yet, buy a non-bootleg copy]; there are also two excellent books on the subject, one by Thomas T. Fetters and one by Douglas Knerr.

You point out Lustron’s small size as a problem. Maybe so — they tend to clutter easily, esp. in the hands of inveterate pack-rats & vintage collectors. But in my attempts to spin the benefits of Lustron ownership, esp. to those who would take up the challenge of preserving these historic gems, I’ve been touting the “small is beautiful”, energy-saving, anti-McMansion, etc. line.

Plus, if the lot is a decent size, and esp. if there’s convenient space created in conjunction with a matching (though wood-framed) Lustron garage (as we have), I’m inclined to suggest creating outdoor “rooms”; patio space; etc. Rather than attempting to build on to a Lustron, a step that invariably destroys some of the original design & orientation, and possibly invites structural and/or component damage at the intersection of original & added materials.

As I’m quoted in the Preservation article, Lustron preservation is a tricky but ultimately rewarding endeavor. Balancing owner prerogatives with historical integrity; developing effective “best practices” for restoration; trying to muster last-minute volunteers to save/salvage Lustrons threatened with demolition; encouraging stodgy local historical societies to recognize Lustron’s key historical & architectural significance; fantasizing about getting a huge, ongoing grant to fund a national salvaged parts warehouse/distribution system; etc.

Lustron homes have a unique & challenging place in current historic preservation efforts: unlike the focus of so many HP activities, they are multiple units spread across c. 35 states (as opposed to singular buildings); residential (hence subject to a myriad of owner preferences, various alterations, and not generally qualified for most institutional preservation funding); relatively low-value, economically speaking (thus sometimes difficult to encourage owners to invest in restoration, though much of this can be DIY). Lustrons might not have the same cache as Wright-inspired Usionians or West Coast case study houses, but their ownership/preservation is perhaps the most grass-roots of any modernist-oriented historical preservation effort out there today.

The main threat to Lustrons remains real estate development, reacting to the fact that the land on which they’re sited is often more “valuable” than the houses themselves. All the more reason for active public education & advocacy about these humble but nifty homes, their engaging background story, and the ongoing search for sympathetic new owers to join the effort to save these metal marvels for posterity.