Thanks, Mom! Here’s a fantastic fridge woddity — a GE Americana refrigerator freezer for sale in Louisville, Kentucky, spotted by Pam’s Mom. This fridge-on-top, freezer-on-bottom beauty has an ingenious built-in countertop area. It’s even covered in sparkle laminate. We suspect: It was made in Louisville, longtime home to GE Appliances.
From the Craigslist post:
Vintage GE Americana Refrigerator
1964-1965
From what I have read, it was on display at the New York World’s Fair in 1964. Very cool looking refrigerator in great condition! French doors on top with bottom freezer & ice maker. Has countertop with a light and outlet. Everything works! Have the manual, warranty card and schematics. Local pick up only.
Here’s a close up of the built-in countertop with electrical plug — do you see what I see? The countertop appears to be a slightly crazed (but aren’t we all) sparkle laminate.
Gotta love those cool details on the inside of the refrigerator too — from the text on the cheese and butter compartments to the decorative pattern on the metal shelves.
There’s even a decorative snowflake pattern in the freezer.
The refrigerator comes with the original literature too, including this numbered diagram. Very neat!
There’s even an original warranty card.
The GE American appears to be a less complex version of the circa-1957 GE Refrigeration Center — a behemoth of American engineering, to be sure.
And of course, don’t forget the famous GE wall refrigerator-freezer, the design we see most frequently in vintage homes.
Mega thanks to craigslist seller Cindy for letting us feature this fantastic vintage refrigerator.
If you want a retro refrigerator, I count at least 10 ways to get one!
Charleen Adams says
Loved this post on the vintage refrigerator s. I think some need to come back in style today! The Food-a-drama ,WOW. The Americana ,another WOW!!!Everything old is new again. That wall hung G.E. isn’t that the coolest? I am sure they all were high-end in price as well as style You can beat the 50s and 60s for innovation. Great article.
Cathy Jacobsen says
I have one of these!!!
It’s brown…
And it works!!!
How do I find out what it’s value is?
Pam Kueber says
Hi Cathy, I don’t do valuations.
Dan says
I have one of these that needs the freon to be charged in it. From the tag inside, im sure if its suppose to be 3lbs or .3lbs. Is possible to look at the litature to tell thanks
pam kueber says
Dan, consult with pro’s on questions like these.
jesse says
Love this article showcasing the “In” Fridge of 1964 … love Louisville, too! What I noticed is the GE dishwasher/sink unit that is in my home. Hope there is info on it too.
Suzy says
I have this GE refrigerator in Canary Yellow … The swinging shelves are not “level” so would love to get replacement swivel clips .. I bought it based on the beautiful yellow color & the exterior chrome edges .. I had A LOT of difficulty identifying the year and thought it was perhaps early 70s.. Also as we tested we found a leak at the bottom of the freezer on the outside so we need to fix it before we use fulltime .. I got it on Craigslist for about $250 then had UShip bring it from Denver to Phoenix … Then I had to replace the interior door panel which took me months to track down & talk someone into selling just wish I had gotten the swivel clips at that time too
la573 says
Your page at that link doesn’t mention this fridge’s coolest feature of all – the shelves all rotate and swing outward – the clips near the front right corner of each shelf hold them in place and is where they rotate. That’s why the left side of the shelves are tapered off a bit near the back, and what allows for that full-height lamp at the left rear (another rare feature that did a great job illuminating the inside of the fridge – much better than the single light bulb typical of the era).
Amber Dawn says
A while back I came across a Coppertone(?) brown GE Spacemaker refrigerator / freezer (on bottom) that had the same snowflake pattern inside. It was GORGEOUS and totally matched my time capsule kitchen, but wouldn’t fit into my car so I had to pass on it. I took a few photos because I think it may be sorta rare, and it’s totally my ideal fridge. So pretty.
https://flic.kr/s/aHsk4ZKzTd
My mother-in-law has a vintage Tappan Fabulous 400 oven which also has a shelf, but I think it actually pushes back in like a drawer if you’re not cooking.
Oh, and I think the counter laminate matches my kitchen countertops. It’s white with glitter and mint green squigglies, but glitter hardly ever shows up in my photos.
https://flic.kr/p/zSAwtP
Scott says
What a fun fridge. GE was quite innovative during these years. I was thrilled to retrograde my 1999 Kenmore oven to a 1976 GE a few weeks back and I’m so impressed by the features and quality I’d heartily recommend vintage GE to anyone.