What was inside all the boxes?
We now get to see!
Close your eyes. Imagine it’s 1948. You recently ordered a big set of Youngstown Steel Kitchen cabinets. The delivery truck has just arrived. The delivery men tote the big boxes into your garage. They begin to open them up. You are so excited!
Now: Open your eyes. It’s 2015 — not 1948 — but we all get to experience the thrill of opening up all the boxes! Yes: Today we get to see the very first photos of the big set of New Old Stock Youngstown Steel Kitchen cabinets that reader Ben recently discovered in storage. As you may recall, we first showed these cabinets — but still hidden in their boxes — in this story earlier this month.
They are just as pretty — just as shiny and new — as they day they were packed into their boxes. So pretty! So shiny! So new!
And woah, Nellie, hang on, because, there is a 1948 General Electric stove to go with. It is brand new, too.
Ben said the price tag was still on it: $270.
In case you didn’t catch that: Brand new. Reader Janet in ME piped right in and said it’s a GE Airliner. A GE Airliner! Woot! Our readers are So Smart. Thank you, Janet in ME!
Not one crumb new.
Apparently, not one scratch new. It was all crated up.
Brand spanking new. Oh my goodness.
Never messed with new.
New new new new new. It doesn’t get much better than this.
But wait, it does get better than this. The best part, imho: New Old Stock Cusheen vinyl countertops to match up with the Youngstown Steel Kitchen cabinet bases.
There are a lot of steel kitchen cabinets around (of course, not NOS), and there are a lot of GE ranges around (ditto) — but pristine Cusheen countertops? These are flipping amazing.
Ben says that the Cusheen vinyl is adhered straight onto steel. As you can see in the photo above, there is a steel channel underneath and multiple short channels behind the backsplash to reinforce the structure. What I mean to say: There is no wood substrate to these countertops! They are Cusheen-on-steel. Ben says it’s 16 gauge. It’s honking heavy stuff.
You screw the countertops right onto the cabinets. I think those are the screws, above.
Note: The drainboard sink was used; Ben says it’s in great shape, though. Also: The sink front was used and needs some work; Ben says the paint has yellowed, and it will need to be repainted to match the other cabinets. Back story seems to be: The complete kitchen was purchased back in ’48 or ’49 with a remodel in mind. Obviously, the remodel never happened. But the owners used the sink base and the sink in another location. In addition, there likely were wall cabinets — but these were also used in another project, long gone.
What is the total tally of what was found? Ben has not made up a list — but he took photos of the boxes, and they are in the slide show, if you want to count.
Ben wants to sell these
What is going to happen to these cabinets? Ben wants to sell them. I really think they belong in a museum and am reaching out to my museum friends right away today to see if they can help get these things to a museum. Meanwhile, Ben is open to offers. He wants to sell everything as a set. (UPDATE: See below; sold. — great follow up story!)
Update: How the story ends
- UPDATE: The cabinets went to a museum — a result of our story! See how the story ends by reading this story here.
More about Youngstowns and Cusheen:
- Must see: “The Mullinaires” sing the praises of Youngstown Steel Kitchen Cabinets in 1953. Classique!
- See our story about Cusheen countertops here. It was an alternative to linoleum, available in a variety of rich colors.
- See the original Cusheen countertops in Brian and Keri’s kitchen here.
- Click here to see this late-1950s catalog showing these countertops — and lots of pretty Youngstown kitchens.
Yowza. Eight years nine-and-a-half years (yowza, I just checked — it’ll be 10 years soon!) into doing this blog daily. Just when I think we will run out of stories, stuff like this comes at us. Yay!
Thank you so much, Ben, for sending all the photos. What a great thing you did by rescuing these! Be sure to tell whoever buys them about RetroRenovation.com and to give them our contact info — we want to see where they land!
CONTINUE to next page to see the SLIDE SHOW — 80 double-sized photos:
Tips to view slide show: Click on any image… it will enlarge to 1000 pixels wide on your screen … click anywhere to move forward, and look for previous and next buttons within photo to move back or forth… you can start or stop at any image:
Lorrie says
Nice set, How come the cooker wasn’t used
InLove says
Heart still pounding!!!!!
kathy burgess says
My grandparents also had the exact same range. We thought the built in cooker was so very cool when we were young. I would love to have the range in my 1940 house I am renovating. sigh….
Pam Funk says
I’m ruined for all other cabinets, stoves, countertops, and sinks….forEVer! Absolutely in awe of this set and wish I had it! Thanks for sharing, though I know I’ll never be the same!
normadesmond says
i’m moist.
Marguerite says
Wow! That’s all I can muster! I’m speechless! Seriously though, they will find a good home I’m sure. As for the stove…well my parents had that very one in the early 50s. The slow cooker was really like a built-in crockpot! They used it all the time!
Liz says
Can I just say I am having cabinetgasm right now.? These are amazing, as are the stove and countertops. Whoever ends up with these is one lucky person!
Ed says
I have to say, that’s not something I thought I would ever read. Learned a new word, I guess.
Megan says
My grandma’s house has these exact cabinets. Sadly, not in as good of shape. The house has been vacant and in disrepair for years. I am in the process of restoring it. The same brand, year, color, and even counter tops. The cabinets had been completely covered in stick on shelf paper, inside and outside including the countertops. I am painstakingly scraping it all off to reveal the original finish. I was so excited to see the original countertop finish again. There is also a sink, just like that one. So cute!
Liz Oglu says
To Megan: Until recently, I lived in a house for 25 years that had the Youngstown steel cabinets. They hold far more than the cabinets today. One of my neighbors, who also had these cabinets, decided to restore his. It just happened that he is a body man, who restores cars. After removing them from the walls, he took the cabinets to his shop & used his skill to remove any little dents or scratches. He even painted them the same way you would to restore an older car. They came out beautiful!! If you want to get a really good job done on yours, I recommend calling upon someone who restores cars. They know how to work with steel. Good luck with your reno!
PS: This new set of Youngstown cabinets is an incredible find! Someone is going to have a terrific retro kitchen.
Dianne says
My parents had these same kitchen cabinets in a house they built in 1949. Not as many because they had a small kitchen. Definitely the sink and some of the cabinets. I also recognize the stove. On the left in the back you could push down on the burner and put in a covered pot. My mom used to slow cook things like pea soup with ham. Boy, she was a great cook.
pam kueber says
Yes, that’s the “Thrifty Cooker” at the back right.
Lorraine says
Wow. Those countertops. I sure hope all find a new loving home