Lustron House - Demise of The Lustron Corporation

Demise of The Lustron Corporation

The Lustron Corporation declared bankruptcy in 1950, despite being an extremely well funded, well-publicized, government-supported enterprise manufacturing a desperately needed product. Production delays, the lack of a viable distribution strategy, and the escalating prices for the finished product all contributed to the failure. Additionally, local zoning codes also played a part: in Columbus, for example, an ordinance prohibited homes with steel chimneys. Some accounts suggest an organized effort from the existing housing industry to stop Strandlund, comparing him to Preston Tucker (ironic, because Strandlund's first choice for the Lustron factory building, the Dodge Chicago Aircraft Engine Plant in Illinois, was actually granted to Tucker to build his automobiles).