What is a Lustron house?

Lustron Houses in Arkansas- QQA Tours only known Lustron house in North Little Rock

Purchased in 2026, this enameled steel house is a rarity in Arkansas. By the end of 1949, according to Lustron records, twelve Lustron houses had been shipped to Arkansas. It is known that at least three of the houses were shipped to Little Rock, and at least one each went to North Little Rock, West Helena, and Pine Bluff. It is unknown where the other six homes were shipped. The Mary H. Matthews Lustron House in Little Rock was built on Maryland Avenue and was a Westchester Model 02. This home was listed on the National Register of historic places on May 23, 2014. According to the 2014 nomination form, the Matthews house, which was sold to the City of Little Rock in 2013, was one of four surviving examples of Lustron homes in the state and one of two surviving in Little Rock at that time. After efforts to have it relocated failed, it was demolished in October 2019. The 1300 block of S. Tyler is home to the last Lustron House in Little Rock city limits. 

5H events are a way to say "Thank you" to our members!

These are free events that have limited space and are registered on a first come, first served basis. Support from our membership makes these events possible. A big thank you to Jessica Poynter, new owner of the Lustron house, for supporting this 5H program through donations and the use of this space. 

Lustron houses were prefabricated enameled steel houses developed in the post-World War II era United States. Lustron Corporation and Chicago industrialist and inventor Carl Strandlund designed these homes in response to the shortage of homes for returning WWII G.I.s. Considered low-maintenance and extremely durable, they were expected to attract modern families who might not have the time for, or interest in, repairing and painting conventional wood and plaster houses.

The Lustron house located on Skyline drive in NLR is a Westchester Deluxe model, boasting built in storage, bay windows, a sunroom, and a rare addition; the garage.

In the late 1940s, soldiers returning from World War II dreamed of the idyllic life: a happy family, a lovely suburban home. But the post-war period instead brought a housing crisis. In response, Lustron promised a dream house—signed, sealed, delivered.

An innovative solution by Chicago industrialist Carl Strandlund, the Lustron house is made of prefabricated porcelain enameled steel, shipped and put together wherever you wanted—an IKEA home, if you will. Inside, families could sit around a built-in, glossy-surfaced table, eating home-cooked dinners in cozy domestic bliss.

As Strandlund advertised, “What Lustron offers is a new way of life.”

From 1948 to 1950, Lustron Corporation built thousands of these unique homes before falling to bankruptcy.

“It has a sort of late ‘40s, ‘50s new modern America appeal,” says Megan Wood of the Ohio Historical Society. “And you don’t have to paint it, you can clean the walls with windex, and you can hang things with magnets.”

The design, too, was exciting, combining modern minimalism and the function of a traditional home.

A house contained over 3,300 parts, pieced together over an average of 350 hours, or 2 weeks. The skeleton was made of steel frames, welded into walls and roof trusses. The roof and walls were made of porcelain-finish steel panels, compressed with plastic seal for air-tight weather resistance.
The technology itself began in the 19th century when European manufacturers started prefabricating cast iron for buildings. Strandlund thought of an inventive American use for enameled metal: solve the U.S. housing crisis.
Strandlund devised an architectural panel which he patented, at first used for gas stations and restaurants. In 1947, he founded the Lustron Corporation to start producing houses. The company received a multimillion-dollar loan from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to get started.
Production began in 1948. Taking over a former warplane manufacturing plant in Columbus, Ohio, the Lustron factory spanned over 1 million square feet of machinery, employing many war veterans.
“They did everything from putting the porcelain on the steel to putting the bathtubs together, and they had employees who took the trucks out and assembled the homes on site,” says Wood.
Lustron offered eight models, varying in bedroom number, size, and amenities. The most popular model was the two-bedroom "Westchester Deluxe." The houses came with accessories like screen doors and steel venetian blinds. For the semi-matte exterior, you could choose between “surf blue,” “maize yellow,” “desert tan,” and “dove gray.”

By 1949, Lustron Corporation had 234 dealers in 35 states. Then the dream hit reality.

Unable to contain costs, the company made less than 3,000 homes, out of the 45,000 promised. In addition, an investigation by a U.S. Senate banking subcommittee uncovered a corruption scandal within Lustron Corporation. Its loans were recalled, forcing the company into bankruptcy in 1950.

An estimated 1,500 of these homes survive, some listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

So as you look back to that nostalgic time and that promise of post-war properity, think of the Lustron, the dream that almost came to be.

History provided by Ohio Historical Society and Encyclopdedia of Arkansas.