Alfred and Olive Thorpe Lustron House

1001 N.E. Second Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Built 1950, listed in the National Register of Historic Places 2007

Photo captions:

Cover from the Original Lustron Home Catalog
Image Courtesy of the Sarasota County History Center

Alfred and Olive Thorpe Lustron House
Image Courtesy of the Broward County Libraries Division

This prefabricated house is constructed of porcelain enamel coated steel panels attached to a steel frame. The panels cover the surfaces on both the exterior and interior of the structure. The windows are made of aluminum. The structure was erected on a concrete slab. The one-story side gabled, Ranch-style house is one of the Lustron Corporation’s Westchester Deluxe Model 2 and features two bedrooms and one bathroom. The semi-open plan interior features living, dining and kitchen areas accessible by “cutout” openings without doors. The original exterior color was blue but, is now painted white, while the interior was originally tan.

In 1947, Carl Strandlund created the Lustron Corporation to manufacture affordable homes to address the post World War II housing shortages. By the end of the war, Strandlund had invented a porcelain enamel coated steel architectural panel that could be mass produced at a low cost. Utilizing a surplus military aircraft factory in Columbus, Ohio, Lustron houses were manufactured as a kit, delivered to the construction site and assembled by the dealer, promising a low cost, quickly produced home for a returning soldier that was economical and practically maintenance free.

The Alfred and Olive Thorpe Lustron House retains most of its original features; however, a carport was added and the original steel roof tiles have been replaced with composition shingles. The home is privately owned and not open to the public.​​