Remember the fabulous 1955 bungalow time capsule in St. Louis? Well, a few weeks ago I was able to arrange a special tour for some St. Louis readers and other mid century enthusiasts in town. Readers Shelly (left) and Lisa, pictured above, were able to attend and see the pristine living room, dining room, bedrooms, Republic kitchen and yes – pink bathroom – in person. Lisa reported: “The house is indeed perfectly preserved…It’s quite a place. It was quite an afternoon. And everyone was glad the new buyer is planning on keeping it as is.”
Many thanks to Shelly – whose brother took this great photo. Thanks, too, to Christopher Thiemet, the real estate agent who saw the potential in the house and knew it should be preserved. And thanks, finally, to the brothers who grew up in the house and allowed this very special visit.
>> The St. Louis Post-Dispatch also covered the story <<. One of the reporter’s points, as she reflected on why the interior was saved-for-sale rather than remodeled – and then successfully sold immediately:
Perhaps in reaction to the current consumption culture, there is a growing desire for the workmanship and sustainability of the past. Retro is the new green living.
Shari D says
Since we are talking about St Louis MCM homes in 1955, I thought you might appreciate this opportunity to view a guidebook of new homes and home developments from just exactly that place, and that year!! If you go to this link:
https://archive.org/stream/HomeBuildersStLouisBilderHomesAlive550001#page/n0/mode/1up
And look through it, it provides you with a little bit of information on the Home Show that was taking place, but even BETTER, it gives you a page each – or more, in some cases – on each builder’s new home designs, floorplans, and development locations, along with not only directions, but a big, two-page map in the center, showing the general locations as they relate to St. Louis as a whole. So, even now, you can track down the location of the housing developments and neighborhoods, that have houses that intrigue you.
It’s on archive.org, which for those who do not know, is a massive, marvelous, online FREE library of every conceivable kind of media, and a special concentration, called the Builders Technology Heritage Library, on builders, manufacturers, the homes that were built from the late 1800’s to the early 1960’s. LOTS of homes, home plans, kit home catalogs, plan books, etc., for all to see!! Did I mention that it is FREE? ????
Gabrielle says
My bathroom looks almost identical!
Timothy Wright says
Hi,
My mom and dad bought their home in Levittown, PA and the upstairs is still half finished. They put a small bedroom in and left the biggest area still unfinished. I hope the people who are the next buyer really loves this part of the house and fix it up the way they want.
Tim
Dino Melfi says
Criminy, I forgot to mention the Nutone built in scale in the bathroom, and the kitchen center, where I have the blender, mixer, etc, that still workd. I also have a Nutone intercom system which does not work, but is one of my many projects. Thanks!
Dino Melfi says
I just discovered your website, and it is great. I have not looked at everything yet, but I assume you are aware of Atomic Ranch magazine? It is nice to see other people who respect mid century homes, and not wantinf to gut and redo them just because they are old. I recently bought a 1960 stucco/stone ranch from the 2nd owner. It has the original birch woodwork and kitchen cabinets with the pink oven, stove top and sink. The main bath has 2 shades of blue tile with a pink sink, toliet and sunken pink tub! It has a sunken dining room, stone planter and great stone fireplace. The owner’s daughter told me realtors thought she should paint the woodwork and gut the kitchen and bathrooms, thank goodness she did not, I would not have bought it. There are some great houses in my area, but most of the owners do not understand how great they are and are replacing doors and redoing baths and kitchens, ugh. Well, thanks for the site!