American-Standard– well-known among vintage home enthusiasts for its gorgeous early- and mid-20th Century sink and bathtub designs — also made its own line of steel kitchen cabinets. I tend to believe these were not as popular as the biggest brands, namely Youngstown, Geneva and St. Charles, and in fact, I believe that later, American-Standard bought out Youngstown. I’m rededicating myself to working on my Retro Renovation Encyclopedia of Vintage Steel Kitchen Cabinets — 86 brands identified! So today, here’s a 1953 American-Standard steel kitchen cabinets brochure from 1953, showing us what the cabinets looked like at the time.
I don’t know the history for sure, but I think there was first and “American Radiator” aka “American” company, that then merged with Standard Sanitary Corporation.” The earlier “American” also had a brand of steel kitchen cabinets, which can be seen in my 1938 catalog.
Photo viewing tip: Once the page has fully loaded, click on a photo and it should enlarge on screen up to 1000 pixels wide. Hit the back or ESC button to get back to the story.
1953: The kitchens were so… classic!
Like other brands of steel kitchen cabinet makers, American-Standard seems to play up the idea that you could start with just a sink cabinet, and add additional base and wall cabinets as you got the money. Or, you could buy just the steel sink+base combination and use wood cabinets in the rest of the kitchen.
Above: The American-Standard Midway sink is pretty darned amazing. Means to sit on a specially designed steel-cabinet island, it has a drainboard on one side and two sink bowls on the other. I’ve never seen one of this in wild.
Above: Some more interesting sink designs here.
Above: Of course, these photos are always great to examine for design details. That’s why I originally started collecting these brochures. I this one, Notice the interesting use of ceramic tile above the sink only.
American-Standard’s design looks like may other manufacturers’: Full overlay doors, chrome handles.
Such a pretty color combination! The brochure says that the company offered Micarta-brand laminates. Micarta was owned by Westinghouse, according to my research.
The best way to know what brand your kitchen cabinets are, is if there is a logo somewhere. Duh. But if not, sometimes we can tell by (1) the overall design, by (2) the cabinet pulls, or by (3) the shelving and pull outs. However, these need to be differentiated enough to know for sure.
Want to break up a long line of laminate countertop? Add a piece of butcher block!
Above: Interesting to see the American-Standard Aeropel ventilator. We’d call this an ‘exhaust fan’. The brochure says:
Winner of two Fine Arts Awards for beauty and utility… The smartly styled, moulded plastic grille can be installed vertically or horizontally.”
Offices nationwide!
Learn more:
Barbara E Moshofsky says
We only had one side of the kitchen with these steel cabinets – maybe not the same brand. I will never forget the sound they made when you closed them!
Ruth says
You know, somewhere in the back of my mind I remember metal kitchen cabinets, but not where I saw them. Whether it was someone’s house or what. They seem like a tremendously practical idea. My mother had a metal free-standing shelf in the kitchen of our house, a 1940’s style oilfield shack in a neighborhood of them in a fast growing city. The house was built in basic mission style, but the kitchen was a total disaster of useless space. I think the cabinet was actually meant for garage use, but we needed kitchen storage, and it was a nightmare to clean. Cabinets would be nice to clean, I think, and not attract the odors like wood does.
Evan Degenfelder says
I too love the “center of the kitchen” sink/drainboard. Lots of drainboard area which would’ve been very useful. And the colors! Sheesh, I wish they still made them today….
Christine W says
Love the colours of the cast iron sinks – PINK! I wonder when colour went the way of the Dodo.
Jana H. says
Thank you for this! I love these early mid-century catalogues, not only the design and graphics but how they depict the culture of the times. The last illustration with the purchasing and credit info is a hoot and a half, “the pretty wife” is sitting there (bored?) as the “man of the house” does all the high finance! My family cabin from the 40’s has a sink & cabinet combo, that was probably salvaged when installed in the 70’s and now could benefit from some serious body work! Big families are hard on houses.
Kathy says
I love the Midway sink-island, and it note it has pop-up drains with handles in front of the sink so you don’t have to reach through dirty dishwater to let the water out. Wow, I could go for something like that, especially in a snazzy color. And it had electrical outlets for use of a coffee maker or mixer, and a variety of shelves and bins incorporated in it on both sides, and what apparently was an innovation at the time, a mixer faucet.
The only fault I could see was the very tight placement with the stove on the floor plan. Kitchen tables were the “islands” of the time–too bad this innovation didn’t catch on. I hope one turns up among your followers!
Carolyn says
“Center of Kitchen Sink” – I like the push button drain openers in the front, that’s right handy. I imagine having your sink in the middle of the room instead of the wall would prevent pipes freezing in frostier climes. I like that food storage slide out drawer – at a glance inventory and probably less waste of stuff that keeps getting pushed to the back.
CarolK says
I’ve noticed that both these cabinets and those posted today (9/25), the Regency steel cabinets had pull-outs in the some of the lowers. They were way ahead of the times. Nowadays, pullouts are common, but they would not have been in the 50s and 60s, at least in stick build cabs. At least I don’t think they were common.
Sheila Bauser says
I don’t know why kitchen sinks aren’t made with drain boards any more. It would sure solve a lot of water problems! Of course I hated our metal sink cabinet with drain board top when I was growing up. —was too old-fashioned! Now I wish I had one.
Pam Kueber says
See this page for drainboards sinks: https://retrorenovation.com/farmhouse-drainboard-sinks/
CarolK says
Some people who install stone countertops and either undercount or farmhouse sinks do have drainboard grooves cut into the stone.
Ranger Smith says
Very interesting and beautiful colors. I note that garbage disposals were an option but dishwashers had yet to come in to play. Thank you Pam for sharing.
Jay says
Thanks for the trip in the way-back time machine. Great photos and illustrations indicative of the era. “Center of Kitchen Sink” I guess morphed into the ever popular island. Thanks for sharing.