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Last Lustron Ever Built? A Piece of Housing History on the Market for 5K

What’s believed to be the last Lustron Home ever built is on the market. Located in McHenry, IL (just 50 miles northwest of Chicago), the $125,000 home offers a fan of 1950s Americana a chance to own a rare 20th-century artifact.

Less than three thousand Lustron homes were ever produced, and this one is believed to be the last that rolled off the production line in 1955, before financial troubles forced the company into bankruptcy.

Lustron was launched in 1947 by Chicagoan Carl Strandlund to meet the demand for housing as World War II vets came home craving a quiet, suburban life.

The homes were prefabricated in a converted warplane manufacturing plant in Columbus, OH, and came delivered by a Lustron crew who would assemble more than 3,000 parts, including a steel frame and panels made out of steel covered with a porcelain finish, according to the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which estimates that there are only about 1,500 Lustron homes still around today.

The result is a home that simultaneously looks like something from a long-forgotten past and a Space Age future.

This particular Lustron home was owned by Rose Marie Stratz-Britton, who lived there until her death last January. Now her daughter Laura Herne, along with Suzanne Kotomski, a broker and interior designer, have the home up for sale after giving the house a makeover.

“I always thought it was the odd house in the neighborhood,” Herne said. She moved her mother into the home in 2011 because its location and simple layout made it a convenient choice. Lustron homes were marketed as three times stronger than a wood-framed home, and were billed as termite- and lightning- proof.

The home has two bedrooms, one bathroom and just over 1,000 square feet, and is situated on a large corner lot with river rights. There’s also a full basement and two-car garage. The home’s windows were replaced in 2015, and floors have been updated with carpet and laminate.

According to the Northwest Herald, a Lustron home in 1950 would have cost about $14,000. With today’s $125,000 price tag on the same home, it seems a Lustron remains a good investment for a home buyer with a love of American history and Mid-Century Modern living.

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