Deconstruction Project Photos

When I was a kid I played with my Kenner Girder & Panel building set, delighting in the mysteries of cantilevers. Taking it apart and putting it together again was very gratifying. I was amazed today to see a full-size girder & panel set on the way to the library.

Lustron homes were mass-produced, all steel with baked-on porcelain finish inside and out. Designed to meet the post-World-War-II demand for housing (financed by the racist G.I. bill), they arrived in a truck and could be erected in a week.

( Before )

( Right now )

Of the 2500 prefab houses made before the company went bankrupt, 16 were in Madison, most in neighborhoods near my house. The owner of the nearest had no success renting it, and sought a demolition permit. The city asked that he take the house apart and make it available to other Lustron owners. and that’s why there’s a small-house construction set on Chatham Terrace.

Use http://www.lustronlocator.com to see if there’s one near you.