1955 house perfectly preserved

[rp2813]

I am once again living in my childhood home. Waiting for things to be settled and buy out my sister for her half. I hope to get some pix posted at some point. The neighborhood dates back to the early 20th century and the last lots were built on in the late 40's. My place is 80 years old. Some of the more well-to-do built some large and very choice homes here. The nicest one, IMO, is the back stairs/laundry chute place mentioned above. Even in today's market it would likely command $3M yet was purchased by current owners for probably under $50K in the mid 70's. In contast, ours was a much more modest home under 1,500 sq ft and in serious disrepair--uninhabitable--when my parents bought it. My room was smaller than 8 x 12. My dad did all the improvements himself over the years. Now I'm looking at things and seeing just how he cut corners and did everything on a shoestring budget. There wasn't any money to spare growing up in our household, but my parents made the right decision choosing the neighborhood they did. They bought this place for $13K in 1960. At least the only investment they ever made was the right one.

 

[launderess]

Finished Basements

And or second kitchens were almost a must for many, especially those from the old country.

One did one's canning down there, and cooking and baking during the hot weather (before AC was widely available, and even after).

On holidays you can't beat a finished basement to handle over flow or even the entire crowd. Saves wear and tear on the upstairs "good" furniture. Or sometimes on holidays the children's table was set up down there.

L.

 

[whirlaway]

Kitchen People

We lived in a nice 1960 brand new split level,den down living room middle and dining and kitchen,bedrooms upstairs,playroom on first level 30by30.We never went in the living room or dining room.Every day before we went to school we ran the hoover and dusted the whole ist level.There were 6 of us.That old 1956 Maytag never rested.Our house was like living in an operating room.Never ate anywhere but the kitchen.But it was fun there were more radios and record players always going to town!!! I dont know why my parents didnt go nuts.The old magnavox cranked up.In one room I was watching Ozzie and Harriet and in another someone was watching Green Acres or the like,it was soooo!! Busy We still talk about it now and we are all in our fifties or close.

 

[qsd-dan]

That old 1956 Maytag never rested.

AMP?

 

[whirlaway]

Maytag

Im not sure! It had the lite up Paneland the very thick lid black agitator,no m on the front of the cabinet.We had the clam shell frigidair dryer from late 61 Garbage!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!It didnt last long at all,it melted and they loaned us a 1956 dryer till the parts came in for the 61 our gas furnace was close by the dryer and when it came on and the dryer was running we had to be careful it would suck the flame from the furnace.

 

[mattl]

I don't know I guess we were exceptional by the standards many here posted. When I was about 10 we moved from a comfortable sized home to a larger one and nothing was off limits. My mother even had a nice white Hendredon sofa in the living room that was not off limits - and it was not covered in plastic! We didn't spend a lot of our time in the LR, had other spaces, but if we had friends over we certainly could use the LR if we wanted to.

We were taught to appreciate what we had and respect it.

 

[whirlcool]

Of course we used to do candle light dinner parties! Since we both love to cook we used to belong to a group of people (usually airline types, pilots / FA's, etc) where we would go to each others homes and try out new foods and recipes. It would usually be 8 people or so.
We had a roasted goose one time and one of the younger FO's (who had a few too many champagnes) speared the turkey with a serving fork and ran all over the house with it "flying" it around. We all laughed out asses off. I'm willing to bet that Laundress would have been horrified by this indignant action!
But normally these aren't wild affairs. Most of the time we talk food and interesting things and places to visit in the cities we travel to. It was a lot of fun.

 

[launderess]

Casting A Dispersion Filled Eye on The Goings On

Can assure you,anyone who dared to skewer a roast, fowl or meat at one of MY suppers, then proceeded to set the thing aflight wouldn't get a foot past the door again! *LOL*

 

[appliances4me]

wow

this is amazing. my grandmother has the same bedroom furniture to this day. Her house is pretty preserved too.

 

[helicaldrive]

I've been in that house

I know the family. The parents immigrated from Italy/Yugoslavia, and bought the house in 1955 as 1st owners. It is in a St. Louis neighborhood that remains predominantly Italian to this day, and it still features many Italian restaurants, bakeries, and groceries. The father built the garage in the alley himself. They raised three sons in that house. One of the sons has been one of my best friends for more than 8 years. This site is not a scam, and the home was not staged. The house has never been "lived" in, in the sense that the family did not use the living room and kitchen upstairs, except perhaps on Thanksgiving, and otherwise, they lived in the basement. The living room, as pictured on the site, is exactly as it was when they lived in the house. The basement, as photographed, is not the same. A lot of furniture had been removed from the basement by the time the photos were taken. On one side of the basement, they had arranged a kitchen/eating area, with an old Magic Chef stove from the 1930s, a table and chairs, and a china cabinet for dishes. They washed dishes and pots and pans in the laundry tubs. Also in the basement, each son had a desk to study at, and there was another huge desk the parents used, plus a recliner or two, a television and stereo. They really DID live, cook, eat and bathe in the basement. The bathroom upstairs was never used, and nobody has ever taken a shower in it. The original toilet upstairs was recently replaced due to plumbing problems from non-use. The mother covered the windows of the living room upstairs with cardboard so that the furniture and carpet would not fade. The Zenith TV in the living room was B/W, and it worked until the 1980s. The children were rarely allowed upstairs, except perhaps on Thanksgiving, and to sleep. Two of the sons slept in the bedroom with the twin bed (there used to be two twin beds in it) and the third son slept in the basement behind the furnace where the portable gas heater is located. The parents slept in the master bedroom upstairs. A lot of the basement furniture, including the 1930s stove they used down there on a daily basis, had already been removed before the photos were taken. The 1950s Magic Chef that is pictured on the site was originally in the upstairs kitchen, and was only very recently replaced with a brand new stove. Their washer and dryer were a white Maytag 606S and matching gas Halo of Heat dryer from 1973, and I bought them about a year ago to use as my daily drivers while I am exiled up here in Cleveland.

They were very clean and neat people, they took fastidious care of things, and they never allowed junk to accumulate. They were frugal, they saved a lot, and their goal was to buy quality things that would last forever if taken care of. Nothing was done to prepare the house for those photos. The furniture in the living room is arranged exactly the same way as it always was. The only difference is that the family portraits and religious artifacts have been removed.

The house is already sold. The buyer appreciates the furniture, and has voiced an intention to leave everything undisturbed.

 

[customline]

Well......

Thank God !!!!!