The pre-fabricated, all-steel Lustron Home was a unique solution to the post-
World War II housing crisis. Between 1948 and 1950, approximately 2,680
Lustron homes were manufactured and shipped by truck to 35 states, primarily
in the Midwest and Northeast. Since the last Lustron rolled off the assembly
line, hundreds have been lost to neglect, alteration and demolition, the pace of
which is dramatically increasing. Indeed, in Quantico, Virginia, the largest
concentration of Lustrons in the United States was recently demolished.
Since 1996, approximately 24 Lustrons and one Lustron District have been
listed on the National Register of Historic Places, many as part of Multiple
Property Submissions for Lustrons in the states of Kansas, Alabama and
Georgia. These Lustrons have been recognized for their significance under
Criterion C as an example of the Lustron Corporations innovative contributions
to the pre-fabricated housing industry.
Despite these positive steps, Lustrons throughout the nation are threatened by
a lack of appreciation, insensitive alterations, neglect, development pressure
and demolition. As development pressure continues to increase, and original
materials age and fail, the threats to the remaining Lustrons will only increase.
A review of the then extant web resources and monitoring of the Lustron Yahoo
Group revealed that there was a need for correct and accurate information on
how to properly maintain and repair Lustron homes. In addition, there was a
clear need for information on basic preservation practices and procedures
including understanding the benefits of listing on the National Register of
Historic Places and protection through a local landmark designation program.
Lustron Preservation (www.lustronpreservation.org), a web-based initiative of
the National Trust for Historic Preservation, was created to help owners and
advocates preserve Lustron homes by providing high-quality technical
information and a forum for the exchange of information via the internet.
The team produced a comprehensive website which includes information on the
history of Lustron homes, advocacy, repair, maintenance, basic preservation
standards and practices as well as a user-generated inventory of Lustron
homes. The website is extensively illustrated with relevant images from the
Lustron Erection Manual and, when available, contemporary and historic
images. Highly sought after, useful and informative documents such as the
Erection Manual and Master Specifications are available for download from the
site for free. The site was built using a content management system (CMS) so
that it can be added to, amended and updated over time to reflect the most
current research.
To date, over 2,300 users from 13 countries have downloaded over 45,000
pages of information and almost 2,000 homes are included in the Lustron
Locator.