The exterior and surrounding landscape are gorgeous, as are the views from inside.
I've never heard of walnut mosaic floors. From what I saw in the pics, I think I'd like them a lot.
OTOH...some of the rooms like the kitchen and the baths were underwhelming. Dropped ceilings in at least one bathroom were kinda blech.
I don't know if it's located in a really desirable area, but I'm not seeing a million dollar house....
-------------------------------- We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home. - Australian Aboriginal proverb
Bazootiehead-in-training
Posts: 37981 | Location: Somewhere in the middle | Registered: 19 January 2010
I'm in pretty good shape for my age, but getting out of that sunken bathtub would present some interesting challenges....
-------------------------------- We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home. - Australian Aboriginal proverb
Bazootiehead-in-training
Posts: 37981 | Location: Somewhere in the middle | Registered: 19 January 2010
Wow. I adore this. Reminds me a lot of my aunt and uncle's house in Ann Arbor, Michigan, which overlooked the Huron River. My Aunt designed it herself and it was built in the 50s I believe. Fantastic house for entertaining.
-------------------------------- fear is the thief of dreams
There were a number of Lustron homes built in my town; I posted one that was for sale a few years ago.
A developer bought it, tore it down and built a McMansionlet.
quote:
What may have been the last Lustron home in Arlington Heights was recently demolished, in what was a rare example of the housing stock available in the post-World War II boom.
Only 2,500 of the prefabricated steel houses were built nationwide between 1948 and 1950 when returning soldiers were looking for affordable, low-maintenance homes.
So few of the single-story houses were constructed because the Lustron Corporation folded in 1950.
The two-bedroom, one-bath Lustron home at 836 N. Dunton Ave. -- with its steel enamel panels for exterior walls and a steel shingle roof -- fell victim to the wrecking ball this month due to its poor condition and the prospect of a larger, two-story house to be built in its place.
The former Lustron property is about three blocks north of the Arlington Heights Historical Museum, which fought to preserve the old house.
"We can't save everything, but it's a worthwhile discussion to talk about preservation of historic resources in a community," said Dan Schoeneberg, the museum administrator. "Those are the things that help give a community its identity, its shape and form, and its sense of being."
The village doesn't prohibit demolition of houses, officials say, and there isn't a historic preservation commission.
But when the design commission looked at architectural plans for the new 2,779-square-foot house in July, the panel did require the developer to provide the historical museum with drawings of the original home and make an effort to salvage parts of it for re-use by other Lustron homeowners.
By one estimate, there may be fewer than 1,200 such homes left in the country. There's a cluster in Lombard, and perhaps one left in Arlington Heights, but museum officials are still researching that possibility, Schoeneberg said.
Only six were constructed in Arlington Heights, he added.
The house on Dunton was the only Lustron property included in a 2004 report by the School of the Art Institute of Chicago on historic preservation.
In addition to the original drawings, the museum also received some of the building components, including pieces of the roof, a cabinet door, and plaque that includes the Lustron model and serial numbers.
Those artifacts will go into storage for now, Schoeneberg said, but could become part of future exhibits about the development of Arlington Heights.
"It speaks very specifically about a time and place within suburban America," he said.
-------------------------------- We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home. - Australian Aboriginal proverb
Bazootiehead-in-training
Posts: 37981 | Location: Somewhere in the middle | Registered: 19 January 2010
Guess they never updated the real estate listing for the Lustron in Arlington Heights. The sold price reflects the new home, not the Lustron. But all the pics from the Lustron are still there.
-------------------------------- We are all visitors to this time, this place. We are just passing through. Our purpose here is to observe, to learn, to grow, to love… and then we return home. - Australian Aboriginal proverb
Bazootiehead-in-training
Posts: 37981 | Location: Somewhere in the middle | Registered: 19 January 2010
