1958 Alcoa house showcases “the wonders of aluminum”
Mid Mod Pam on Aug 04 2008 at 8:00 am | Filed under: historic preservation
Today’s time capsule voyeurism - an Alcoa Aluminum showcase - found by Keith - in the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Thanks, Keith! If I had a contemporary home, I’d for sure have a Mondrian kitchen like this:
Pam, I found an interesting house listing at Sotheby’s website .. a 1958 prefab built by Alcoa. Cool.
-Keith
Located in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, the property is listed for $440,000 by Southeby’s, who says in their online materials:
A Mid-century contemporary marvel for modern living. Designed by Charles M. Goodman and constructed in 1958 as a project for the Alcoa Aluminum Company to showcase the wonders of Aluminum.
Built with post & beam construction and combines decorative and structural aluminum with beautiful woods such as oak, redwood and cypress.
Much of the original detail and design elements remain including the deep purple exterior panels and bright blue window panels. Walls of floor to ceiling glass are used on each end of the home. A California Style is featured by the use of an open courtyard between the home and car park.
The home is set on a fantastic double lot, and has three bedrooms, three baths and a full basement featuring two egress windows and ready for finishing. The outstanding open floor plan and vaulted ceilings are unique to this property.
For a few more photos —
This same house was just panned on Apartment Therapy. I don’t always share their values, so I read their critique with a lot of skepticism. One of their writers went to view the house as a prospective buyer (legitimately, it seemed). They loved the living area, but reported that every other space was in bad repair or had suffered unfortunate updates.
Photos and link here:
http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/chicago/real-estate/prefab-fifty-years-later-057169
It doesn’t look that bad to me. The kitchen and bathroom do look 70s or 80s (though I never get those right), and I realize correcting that sinks a lot of money. But everything else looks pretty minor, like a hole in a hollow core door. That would never dissuade me from snatching up a house like this, but it does seem really careless not to replace cheap doors before showing the house. They also hated the purple exterior (well, I LOVE it!) and scowled at the finished basement, which to me (with a little bit of vision) looks like heaven underground.
It’s a little bruised and lonesome. I hope someone good buys it.
(Not sure if that link will travel. If not and you want to see the pictures, you can just search Charles M Goodman on the AT site.)
I am loving the coloured cabinets and the glass by the front door
I live in one of these houses that is in Rochester, NY. I can’t say enough good things about it!!!! Here is a link to some pictures along with the original national sales brochure.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22021175@N02/sets/72157603542788454/