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Home / Readers and their... / modern

Rochester Steven’s 1957 Alcoa Aluminum house

Pam Kueber - August 19, 2008, Updated: February 4, 2019

Retro Renovation stopped publishing in 2021; these stories remain for historical information, as potential continued resources, and for archival purposes.

After we looked at the Alcoa Aluminum time capsule home in Minnesota a few weeks ago, we heard from Steven in Rochester, New York, who owns another of these houses.

He’s decorated just beautifully! The more I look at his interiors – the more I appreciate every detail and the mix of colors and textures. Swoon…

And, Steven has some original sales material and has posted it, along with 50 photos of his gorgeous home, on Flickr.

He says that in total – there were 23 of these “demonstration homes” built around the country – and there’s a list in the brochure.

Steven says about the house:

This house is located in Brighton which is a suburb of Rochester, NY. It was designed by architect Charles Goodman and it is 1 of 23 homes that were built for Alcoa Aluminum’s “Care-free Home” demonstration project.

It was built in 1957 by Fred P. DeBlase.

We moved into the house in June/07 and have spent the last six months working on the inside and outside. The house is not in its completely original state. Over the years the two bathrooms and the kitchen were remodeled. We intend to redo all of them more to period in the near future.

The original national sales brochure was handed down with the house and I have scanned and posted it too. On page 15 there is a listing of the locations of the 23 homes that were built.

And be sure to click here to see all 59 photos in Steven’s Flickr photostream!

Thank you so much for sharing, Steven!

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28 comments

Comments

  1. Ann says

    September 7, 2014 at 10:15 pm

    This is back for sale!
    http://www.trulia.com/property/3165520100-1589-Clover-St-Brighton-NY-14610

  2. Fran Toporek says

    November 28, 2012 at 5:30 pm

    Hello,
    My husband and I own a Fred DeBlase home in Brighton and would love to see the “23 homes” in the brochure. Our house was built in 1948 I think and it is also in Brighton…
    Thank you,
    Fran & Paul Toporek

    • Steve says

      November 29, 2012 at 9:22 am

      Fran & Paul
      Send me a message through my flickr site that is linked above and let’s arrange a visit!!!!

  3. Lynn Valentino says

    September 22, 2012 at 7:34 am

    I am selling my alcoa kitchen in Ohio. Does anyone know someone remodling their alcoa home that could use extra cabnets?

    • Steve says

      September 22, 2012 at 8:03 am

      Thanks so much for having thr forethought to post that here!! Can you please email me through my Flickr site that Pam has a link to above. It would be great for these to end up in an Alcoa house.

    • pam kueber says

      September 22, 2012 at 9:35 am

      You can post these on our forum: https://retrorenovation.com/forums/

    • Lee Braun says

      May 20, 2019 at 3:01 pm

      Lynn,
      Do you have any photos of your Alcoa house that you could send me. We just purchased the one in Alexandria VA

  4. MiMoPenny says

    March 20, 2012 at 11:48 am

    Hi, I’m so excited to see such interest in the Alcoa Care-Free Home(s)! I’d like to request a copy of the original brochure in .pdf – is it possible that someone could email it to Pam and she forward on to me? Thank you so much for your help.

    • pam kueber says

      March 20, 2012 at 11:58 am

      MiMoPenny, I can’t be the middleman on such endeavors. Sorry.

    • Steve says

      March 23, 2012 at 9:34 am

      I do have a pdf of the brochure but it it too large to send in an email. I could send a cd to you if you provide me with your contact info. If you want go to my flickr site and send me a email though there. Pam has put a link to my site in this post.

  5. Michael says

    February 6, 2012 at 10:22 am

    Here are more pictures of the house in Miami:

    http://moderncapitaldc.com/2012/02/05/pictures-of-endangered-goodman-alcoa-care-free-home-in-miami/

  6. Michael says

    January 18, 2012 at 10:18 am

    Here’s the one in Miami. It is endangered.

    http://moderncapitaldc.com/2012/01/17/endangered-goodman-alcoa-care-free-home-in-miami-529k/

  7. SaraTinkelman says

    December 29, 2010 at 3:56 pm

    What an astonishing place! I’d be very, very grateful to Steven & Michael if they would let me know the name of the auto-body shop where they had their steel cabinets refinished. I’m in Brighton, fellas, and need some neighborly steering toward the right people to work on the Youngstown steel cabinets I recently acquired. – Sara [ edited by pam – pam sent an email to steven to make the connection ]

  8. D Payson says

    August 14, 2010 at 11:06 am

    Any pictures? We are about to renovate our house in MA, perhaps you contacted us a few years back? Nice forum to reunite these houses listed in the original brochure.

  9. Barry Lucas says

    April 5, 2010 at 12:52 pm

    Hello –

    My wife and I live in the Alcoa house in Westwood Hills in Maryville, TN. We have been there for 9 years. Unfortunately, much had been done to the house before we bought that was miles away from the original look and feel. We have really enjoyed seeing all of the photos of the homes that have been renovated to reflect the architecture and period. Hopefully, some day we can move in that direction as well. If anyone reads this post and is renovating and has tips or tricks, let us know.

    Barry

    • Steve says

      April 7, 2010 at 9:55 pm

      Great to see another Alcoa House owner surface!!!!! This is a great place to see tips and tricks for renovating. I would enjoy seeIng any pics that you would like to share.

      Steve

  10. Heidi Swank says

    June 9, 2009 at 12:36 am

    Fabulous house! We just picked up a pair of Emerson-Pryne outdoor lights called Space Shape that were made in conjunction with Alcoa Aluminum. However, one of the globes is broken. Since the globe stem is threaded where it screws into the aluminum base, we are lost for where we might have one made. Any ideas?

    • pam kueber says

      June 9, 2009 at 12:39 am

      Heidi, can you send me a pic, I’m ever so curious….retrorenovation at gmail dot com, thanks.

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