Intended as a solution to the nation’s housing problem in the immediate postwar period, the Lustron house was the product of Carl Standlund’s Lustron Corporation which received Reconstruction Finance Corporation funding to manufacture a mass produced, factory built house. With a steel framework entirely clad in two-foot square, porcelain-enameled panels, the new, lustrous look seems to have appealed to a nation in love with the automobile. The revolutionary design, aimed at the middle-class market, had a moderate price because of standardization of prefabricated parts, a much quicker on-site construction time than was typical for the average, wood frame house of the period and low maintenance costs. The Lustron idea stood out from other mass housing developments of the time because it could be moved in and assembled on any empty lot. This house, in the postwar subdivision of Ridglea West, was erected by Textron Homes, the local dealer, in 1949, at an estimated cost of $8000. The first owner and resident in 1950 was William L Lampley, manager of the Trading Post Service Station on Camp Bowie Boulevard, and his wife Jaunice. The two-bedroom house of rectangular plan has a low gable roof clad in gray, tile-shaped enameled steel panels, and walls clad in smooth light blue panels with pale yellow enameled window units. The interior, with grey enameled walls and built-in cabinets and closets, is almost intact. Upon the attainment of fifty years of age, the house will be eligible for the National Register as a highly innovative example of postwar housing.
