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Only 1,500 post-WWII Lustron porcelain-clad homes exist and two can be found in Jackson
Only about 1,500 remain and two of them are in Jackson, owned by Mike Blount and Kenny Walker. The Lustron home was advertised as ideal for returning war veterans and their families and were approved under the guaranteed mortgage program for returning veterans. The houses were mass produced and a kit for an entire house was sent to the building site on one truck, which also served as a storage unit while the house was being constructed. The prefabricated enameledsteel panels were bolted into place on a steel frame on a cement slab. They were called Lustrons because of the lustrous appearance of the enamel. The houses came in four colors, surf blue, dove gray, maize yellow and desert tan. Cabinets and appliances were built in. One feature of the Lustrons was the combination clothes and dish washer. Lustrons were less expensive to construct than other standard houses. Maintenance costs were lower because the houses never need repainting, refinishing or re-roofing. The houses were also considered fire proof. Insulation between the inside and outside panels made the houses easy to heat and cool. In February of 2000 Mike Blount's Lustron on College Avenue was added to the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of Interior and the Alabama Historical Commission. "The houses in Jackson are called J.P. McKee Lustron Houses because he was the one who built them in the 1940s. I bought the house from the original owners, Grover and Eunice Gunter," Blount said. Blount rents the house out. He said the house is very low maintenance. "If it gets dirty you just wash off the walls, both inside and out. It just needs a little plumbing work occasionally."
Various historical societies in the United States are working to preserve the Lustrons that haven't been torn down to make room for more modern housing. Alabama is one of five states that include Lustrons in the National Register of Historic Places.
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