Isn’t this the most strange — yet wonderful — and I bet, very rare — drainboard sink that we have ever seen? It’s the Midway sink from American Standard, and it appears to have been introduced in 1954. Oh glorious day to see one in its natural habitat in the wild. Does anyone out there have one? Has anyone out there seen one? Bueller? Bueller? Read on for 6 more wonderful mid century oddities –>
The photo appears pixelated and gray here, that’s because it was quite small, and I scanned it at high resolution. Here is more information from the advertisement:
Midway Sink: This new, island-type sink-and-cabinet combination saves steps and time. The 44″ x 37.5″ cst iron sink has two deep bowls and spacious drainboard. Exclusive new fitting permits one-hand operation. Steel cabinet opens both front and back… has electrical outlets on both sides.
Here is the American-Standard corporate information also featured in the ad page. Interesting to note that by 1954, American-Standard also owned Church (toilet) Seat and (plastic wall) Tile.
Now here’s what sounds to be a great idea to fill in space between interior wall studs in a closet: A metal recessed shoe rack.
Here is the ad from Leigh Building Products that includes the recessed shoe storage. To get to my count of 7 wonderful oddities — aka “woddities” — I’m also calling out the dust chute, the package receiver and the garbage container, which, I believe, was meant to hand in the inside of your kitchen cabinet door underneath the sink.
This Tu-Vue medicine cabinet has a door that rolls upward to open. I don’t quite understand the marketing copy. Is one of the mirrors a magnifying mirror?
Lastly, an interior heater that seems to sit recessed between wall studs — but it also telescopes to the exact wall thickness. I also find it interesting that this is “engineered for all gases.” I am accustomed to seeing heaters like this that are electric — but ones that run on natural gas or propane? I don’t get that. Bueller? Bueller?
Can you believe that I found all of these woddities in one magazine, one issue – July 1954? The postwar period, and especially the 1950s, I think, was booming with technological innovation. I love to see these wonderful oddities that clearly, did not find success in a mass market but which showcase the inventiveness in America then. And you know what — I think we are still a nation of incredible inventiveness today. Yes, I do! The headlines are all doom, gloom, controversy and confrontation, but we Americans are a hard-working and optimistic people. We make things happen and get things done with spirit.
brneyedgrl80 says
Growing up in San Diego, we had a natural gas wall heater in our apartment that was built in the 60s.
My step-dad owns a 1956 home in San Diego and he also as a natural gas wall heater as well as a natural gas floor heater that shares a wall between the living room and dining room.
I remember the pilot light at the bottom of our wall heater that was behind a little door that you could open. The heater would get a bit warm to the touch, but not enough to burn.
Jerry says
Pam
The wall heater, I had 2 differnet ones like that in apartments in San Francisco that ran on natural gas. The ones I had, in the 2 seperate apartments , had a fan in the bottom of them that kicked on when the heater turned on, by thermostat. The fan moved at a slow speed. It took the cold air from the floor, blew it over the heated fins and came out the top part. Both apartments I had lived in were built in 1950’s, I know one was built in 1956 the other I don’t know. They are really great heaters if your in an area of the country where it doesn’t get real cold.
Max says
These ‘woddities’ are just charming! The sink island is actually quite interesting – you could orient your kitchen layout in an entirely different way with it.
I was surprised to see those shoe racks in the catalog, because I’ve looked at them for years in my grandmother’s house and didn’t realize they were that unique. I wonder how many homes had them installed?
Nac1959 says
Pam, you are too funny! “Bueller? Bueller?” Let us know if you get an answer on that one, k? and thanks!
Gabbie says
LOL! “Wife-appeal”.
Jeanne says
Interesting how these innovations were out of the midwest, specifically Michigan (yea!), Ohio and PA. I think the shoe rack would still be useful!
Wendy M. says
These are great! I especially love the copy on the medicine cabinet ad, “Locking poison shelf (especially interesting to mothers).” I know times were different then, but I’m sure there were some fathers out there concerned about their children being poisoned! It’s fun to see how marketing has changed over the years…thanks for sharing these.
MCM is Grand says
The walls heater in our 1955 home was gas-fired. Anytime the floor vibrated, the lower panel would fall open and you could view the little pilot light in action. Not the safest way to heat a house! Also, those wall heaters did a great job…if you were standing in front of them! The rest of the house would be freezing.
Gavin Hastings says
Why would a company name a recessed wall heater BRILLIANT FIRE?
I used to live next door to a house that had one of these, fired with gas. It vented from behind with an aluminium “cone” on the exterior wall. They took in out while renovating – I do not think it was up to code.
Michelle says
We have something similar in our addition built in 1959; though it’s not recessed, it does have outdoor cone intake/exhaust thing. It’s gas, too, but we’ve only been here since May so it hasn’t been inspected or used.
Kate H says
I had two of these in a 1950s apt in Dallas. There were only two bad things about it: the heater downstairs pushed all the heat upstairs, making it hot at night — you had to turn the heat way down; and when you turned the heat on for the first time, you had to make sure the pilot was lit so you didn’t kill yourself. I never worried about fire, though, and the one upstairs actually heated two rooms that were adjacent — it had openings on both sides of the heater.
In the bathroom, the metal medicine cabinet was the same way. When my medicine cabinet was open and my neighbor’s was too, we could hold a conversation — the backs of the cabinets backed into one another.
I loved that apt. There were four colors of bathrooms in the complex (green, pink, turquoise, yellow), a metal kitchen with an ironing board pullout and an attic fan (mine didn’t work). The only reason I moved was because they (of course) decided to demolish it and put in something new, it was very sad.
Jana (Berniecat) says
Love those “woddities”!!! The recessed shoe rack is really cool. For some reason it strikes me as something “upscale” marketed more for men? (I can see the butler Mr. French going in and putting away a pair of Uncle Bill’s shoes)…. I am puzzled, though… I see a clothes chute door in the advertisement. While I never had one in my childhood home, My aunt and uncle have a clothes chute in theirs and it has a door on it with a catch that you had to pull open. I just assumed all clothes chutes came with doors. Was it more common for most clothes chutes not to have them? Just wondered.
Marty Golia says
It looks like this laundry chute door pushes in, so you could just toss stuff in rather than unlatching and pulling a door open.
I’m more intrigued by the “Dust Chute” in the row below it. You just sweep stuff behind the wall? Into the basement?
Elaine says
I believe you do just sweep the dust into the basement, but I think you attach something under the opening to catch the debris so you only have to dump it once in awhile instead of running to the waste can several times during sweeping (saves countless steps, says the copy).
Nina462 says
I have something like that with my fireplace – when the embers are cold I can sweep them into one of two shoots – that I can then clean out later. They lead to the basement. The fireplace chimney sweep that I hired last year said they were top of the line and in great condition for 46 yrs old.
Ted says
I have that laundry chute in my house. Negligible use in that it only opens until it hits the wall on the other side–maybe 3.5 inches.