The GE wall refrigerator-freezer is the vintage kitchen appliance that perhaps draws the most gasps from readers when they see one for the first time. And, it’s one of the appliances that inspires many folks to ask, “Why don’t they make this today?” Why did it disappear? I have a few hypotheses. According to the copy in these marketing materials (part of my personal collection), the GE wall refrigerator-freezer was introduced in 1955 — the same year that GE introduced the Wonder Kitchen and a whole suite of kitchen appliances all meant to encourage the “built-in” look.
Here’s what the ad says about this exciting new invention:
… This magnificent refrigerator-freezer that hangs from the wall provides a completely new and advanced concept of modern living. Truly, it is the most convenient and magnificent refrigerator-freezer ever produced!
The advantages of this new G-E Wall Refrigerator-Freezer are obvious: there’s no need to bend or stoop for foods because everything can be seen at a glance… It can be installed directly above a work counter to provide extra counter surface. And, there’s room in the kitchen for extra base cabinets because this compact new appliance occupies no floor space.
…Six Mix-or-Match colors including white.
Specs: “This de luxe refrigerator-freezer has 10.7 cubic feet of storage room — 8.7 cubic feet for fresh food and 2 cubic feet for frozen foods. It is 5 feet 4 inches long, 3 feet 3½ inches high and 17½ inches deep.
- Long-lasting baked enamel with a wide band of textured aluminum.
- All 3 doors are kept shut by famous alnico magnets. No handles, no catches.
- Separate vegetable and fruit compartments have transparent sliding doors.
- Top shelf provides space for tall bottles. Shelves are adjustable to various levels.
- Separate compartments inside door or butter, egg rack; and door shelves for small jars and cans.
- Zero-degree food freezer has room for up to 83 packages of frozen foods.
- Four new-style Mini-Cube® ice trays.
- Frozen fruit juice storage rack.
- Dependable whisper-quite ealed-in G-E refrigeration unit is built into the refrigerator. No need to install it separately.
Above: Note the special hanger gear on the wall. Readers experienced with this units advise: If you find one to buy for your kitchen, Be Sure to Get The Hanger Thingie!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of these “live” working in a reader’s kitchen. But I see no reason that these could not still be used. They may require some refurbishing.
Mix-and-Match style: Above, this image produced to advertise Armstrong Flooring shows just how the different GE cabinets and appliance colors could be mixed and matched Mondrian-style.
Above: Another interior design from Armstrong floors — Note here, how the GE wall refrigerator-freezer unit is built into an appliance wall. Cool to the max. Plus: Love that floor!
Above: Here’s the GE Wonder Kitchen.
Above: Reader Chris scored a GE Wonder Kitchen, refurbished it, and installed it in his apartment, which is in a building designed by Mies van Der Rohe.
Okay, so can I now really blow your mind? Above: A full GE Refrigeration Center — combining the wall refrigerator-freezer with base cabinets refrigeration and even tucking in two Cabinettes. I don’t know the year of this ad, although this marketing image is somewhere in my files.
Above: And this one blows our minds too: The GE Partio Cart, introduced in 1960.
Why did GE wall refrigerator-freezers fade from the marketplace?
I hypothesize: (1) An 8.7 cu.ft. refrigerator was not “enough”, especially as manufacturers continued to offer new, larger refrigerator designs. (2) Kids could not reach the refrigerator. (3) Many women [average height was 5’4″, I remember reading once] themselves had trouble reaching. (4) I’m guessing these were expensive.
Diane Cassidy says
I thought I would post a note to let the readers know that I bought my historic FERNDALE Michigan home in 2011. One of the best features of my home is that it has an original GE wall fridge still operating as my full time fridge in my full GE kitchen, I still have the original metal cabinets and the stove in the lovely sunny yellow shade!!! If anyone is interested in seeing photos, I am happy to provide.
philq says
Diane, what color is your refrigerator? I have a turquoise refrigerator (and GE wall oven) and yellow St Charles cabinets!
SuSus says
I would love to see pictures! Any & all! Thanks, Susie
Barb says
We recently purchased a home built in 1959 which has a turquoise GE Refrigeration Center complete with refrigerator, cabinettes, bottom freezer and a base cupboard and also a built in white oven and electric cooktop. The cooktop is the only one in working condition. They are in good condition, some wear and scratches on the end of he refrigeration center. What are they worth and what ways have you incorporated them into a more modern kitchen?
pam kueber says
Hi Barb,
Have you checked out our category Kitchen Help/Readers and their Kitchens — https://retrorenovation.com/category/kitchen/kitchens-hi-pam-reader-spotlight/
You can see a variety of retro kitchen design approaches there.
In this story, Chris completely refurbished a Wonder Kitchen — https://retrorenovation.com/2013/03/11/mies-van-der-rohe-apartment-kitchen/
Also check out Kitchen Help / Steel Kitchens — https://retrorenovation.com/category/kitchen/steel-kitchen-cabinets/
Barb says
Thanks – I will take a look!
nancy says
We have a pink on pink fridge (1956 model) that was in the kitchen of the 50’s ranch bungalow we bought in 1987. Our house was the model for the neighbourhood when it was being built.
My husband said that when the fridge broke we would renovate the kitchen. It’s now the end of 2014 and it’s not yet broken down. We bought both our children up here, with this fridge. We have just sold our house and are moving out. The fridge is still working away. We also have the matching oven which is of course working just fine too. After 27 years in this house I did not get to renovate! LOL
Chuck says
I just bought one in turquoise on Ebay. I brought it home and installed it in my den as part of a wet bar/kitchenette. Love it! It’s in great shape and runs smoothly and quietly. The thermostat is sensitive and is set below 1, maintaining 10 degrees in the fridge. It may need a new thermostat or the current one needs a good cleaning.
Chris says
Wow, I grew up with these, in turquoise! My father designed our mid century home himself. I loved the furniture and “vibe” of the house as a kid. Unfortunately most of the furniture is gone, and they did some remodeling that detracts from the mid century look. But the bones are still there, and the original bathroom and light fixtures remain. My parents are still living in the home sixty years later. My goal is to revive it to the look and feel I remember as a kid. Memories…
pam kueber says
Wow, 60 years in the same House! It sounds lovely and well loved. Thanks for sharing!
livng2tell says
I remember watching the movie “The Horseman” (with Dennis Quaid) and seeing this type of fridge and thought it was the coolest thing ever and that I wanted one. I got a whole mid-century Swedish vibe from the decor used in the movie; of course though, the director is Swedish.
Jason says
I saw one of these (a yellow one!) in someone’s house in the late 80’s. Oddly enough, the kitchen had been remodeled in probably the late 70’s or early 80’s, judging by the cabinetry and countertops. I was fascinated by the thing but immediately noticed a few design flaws. One, as you mentioned, short women could not reach it well. I’m 5’6″ and I thought the top shelf was a little high. Two, the thing is both deeper than a standard 12″ deep upper cabinet, and it leaves less clearance than a typical upper cabinet. The freed up counter space below the refrigerator was almost useless due to this. Still kind of wanted one though!
Ray in the Prairie says
In my youth, I made extra money cleaning homes. I was fortunate to work long-term for a lovely family in a 1955 ranch home community. Their home was one of the demonstrator homes for the Woodland Estates on the Scioto subdivision with a fully preserved and complete GE kitchen, including the original wall refrigerator, built-in cooktop with the pushbutton controls on the wall, and the top-loading dishwasher with the propeller in the bottom. All the cabinets were GE metal in turquoise with the cooktop, oven, and fridge being white. It was all in daily use in the late 70s, but the refrigerator finally developed a leak that none of the repair shops locally could fix. The size wasn’t an issue if you shopped every few days, but big market trips would have required a freezer somewhere else. This kitchen had put a half-depth built-in desk beneath the fridge, to make access easier. I can’t imagine reaching the top shelf easily from a full depth countertop.
shelley merchant says
The house we just sold had one of these when we moved in and unfortunately, I didn’t realize what a gem it was – I was still new to mid-century modern – and we removed it. It was not working and we ended up turning the space into shelves since there was a built in desk below. Once I began learning about the history of that house I wanted to kick myself! At least we didn’t tear out the colored bathrooms or the metal kitchen cabinets.
Janet in ME says
My father was a GE dealer since the mid-fifties and sold GE kitchens and these wall fridges. Sadly, none of the sales literature remained at the store, although multitudes of other items did. Dad is gone now but several years ago, I asked his repairman what the story was on those fridges and he said the problem was indeed that the condensers and motors failed, usually because it was so difficult/next to impossible to clean them regularly and when they got dirty, they went down. He told me GE had one fellow that they sent out all over the country, literally flew him to his destination, to repair these wall fridges. This was still going on back in the eighties, if I remember right, and he was still doing it but maybe semi-retired at that time. Most people replaced them long ago but as mentioned, those who have no place for a conventional fridge in the kitchen or who don’t want to rip half the kitchen out are hanging onto them. It is a testament to GE’s dependability to know so many of them are still working despite their design flaws. I would love to have one here in this house because I have no room for my precious turquoise vinyl buffet other than squished in the corner. I would gladly deal with a wall fridge to showcase my buffet! So do we cope to focus on our love of retro!
ineffablespace says
I knew two people that had these and one was used for the dishes by the 1970s and the owners of the other still used the fridge portion until the 1980s but had given up on the freezer in the 1960s. Both relied on conventional fridges placed elsewhere.
Also these worked in an era when adults exerted more control over what young kids ate, and when. Now kitchens seem as much designed for all access all the time snacking by kids–even during meal preparation– so people wouldn’t be much interested in a fridge that’s hard to reach.