In 1947, the Lustron Corporation, a division of Chicago Vitreous Enamel, led by industrialist and inventor Carl Strandlund received a 12.5 million dollar loan from the federal government’s Reconstruction Finance Corporation to mass produced prefabricated homes. Standlund adapted an enameled steel design previously used for gas stations and production began at the former Curtiss-Wright plant in Columbus, Ohio. These low-maintenance , affordable and extremely durable homes, were pitched as a solution for busy young families looking for an alternative to the repair and upkeep required by old fashioned, wood and plaster houses.
The 2×2 and 4×4 porcelain-enameled panels were placed on a steel frame for use as interior, exterior walls, ceilings and the roof. The material is miserable to cut or drill into. Magnets are very popular for hanging objects inside and out. Lustrons were made on an assembly line and put together like Lego bricks on-site. After following 207 pages of instructions, their roughly 13-ton steel home was ready to use. Roughly 2300 homes were manufatured and shipped out before the company went bankrupt in 1950. There are about 24 examples of Lustron homes in Minnesota and at least 18 the Twin Cities metro area. Almost all of them are in South Minneapolis, but the very best one is on Yates Avenue North in good old Robbinsdale.