Esquire

On November 12, 1946, the Chicago Vitreous Enamel Products Company opened the prototype Lustron model, known as the “Esquire,” in Hinsdale, a suburb of Chicago to an enthusiastic public. Panels for the exterior and interior walls were produced by the Chicago Vitreous Enamel Products Company, the parent of the Lustron Corporation until Lustron became a separate entity in November 1947. Built-ins, like the vanity and kitchen/dining room pass-through, were mocked up in wood and covered with enamel paint to simulate the look of enameled steel.

The exterior panels were blue and yellow. The derivation of this striking color scheme is not known, but it is perhaps not coincidental that it echoes the colors of the flag of Sweden, the homeland of Lustron founder Carl Strandlund. This became the standard color scheme for the demonstration homes. Harvey Gunderson, the director of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, later recalled that the blue and yellow houses looked “a little like hotdog stands.” The mass-produced for-sale houses adopted a more neutral palette of pastels: surf blue, maize yellow, desert tan, and dove gray.

The design was the prototype for the Westchester. The main change between the two models was the rear wall, which was set back by the bathroom and bedroom in the Esquire and ran straight across in the Westchester. This added a little square footage and was easier to manufacture and assemble.

Esquire Specs

• 2 Bedrooms
• Dimensions: 31 feet by 35 feet
• Total size: about 990 square feet
• Features: One corner is recessed for an entry porch measuring 6 feet by 12 feet.