A Question About Vintage Ranges

[chuffle]

Hello all:

Recently, a dear friend of mine purchased a wonderful 40" Roper range, which is perfect for their vintage kitchen. A few days ago, we were chatting about vintage ranges and I was lamenting the fact that my kitchen, while part of a 100 year-old farm house, only has room for a 30" range (due to cabinet/counter configuration and the fact that there are five doors in the room), and so many of the wonderful old ranges are 40" wide.

That got me to thinking, and here is my question:

When did the change-over take place, when did the current 30" range become the standard width for a range? I've been surfing around the local Craig's List postings, and the only vintage ranges look to be of the 40" size.

I just thought that I would post the question and hopefully some of you range gurus could enlighten me. Thanks for your thoughts.

Joe

 

[combo52]

RANGE SIZES

At the start of the 1950s most nice electric ranges were 40" wide and most gas ones were 36" wide. By the mid 50s 30" ranges started to get more popular and the rest is history.

 

[circlew]

It seems to me 36" and 40" ranges stayed more popular in rural areas, where people did more canning and baking. I worked in a hardware-appliance store one summer in the late 70's that was a Frigidaire dealer (also Sunray and Maytag). I helped with delivery so was familiar with what was sold, even though I wasn't involved in sales in that dept. This store sold more 36" Sunray gas ranges than it did the 30". Most of these went to people in old farm houses that used propane. Believe about a third of the Frigidaire electrics sold were 40" models, about evenly split between people in town and those on farms. In my own neighborhood at that time, most people had electric ranges; only a couple I can think of used propane gas. Most of them were 30", as was the Westinghouse my parents bought in '53. I don't think GE came out with a 30" model until the restyling in '57, though I think Hotpoint may have had one earlier.

 

[alr2903]

Chuffle, I think mostly,after WWII and after the building boom boom got well underway housing became tract built, with standardized components and dimensions. No doubt, the wider stoves continued to be made for years, and cabinetry either out of the box or custom made continued for the Flairs and Tappan Fab-400's. Built ins with grills or griddles in the middle were usually 36 inch cooktops or wider. Even in new housing people sometimes preferred to keep their older wider stove, we once had neighbors in a brand new home that kept a tappan doughboy stove, from a previous home, it was beautiful. alr2903

 

[norgeway]

First 30 incher...

Was 1950 Frigidaire Thrifty Thirty,everyone else followed suit,Monarch made a 32 inch range,and several others made strange sizes,My 55 Norge is 41 inches wide,and all large GEs and Hotpoints were 39 inch till I think 57,when their 40 inch came out,I believe GE had a 24 and 30 inch about 53 or 54 but am not sure,but I am sure Hotpoint had a 30 in 54 because that is what we had when I was a child.

 

[tomturbomatic]

In Consumer Reports articles about stoves, they state in almost every ratings report that 30" became the most popular size for electrics in the 50s. Many older homes did not have many kitchen cabinets or counters so the extra work surface on a 40" range and the storage the drawers provided were appreciated along with the drainboard on the sink.

 

[hydralique]

Builders . . .

Remember that the '50s and '60s were the heyday of the tract development as the population in the US increased and there was a shift toward suburban living. The average new home in the mid '50s was well under 1500 sq. ft. in size. Many of these homes had three bedrooms, which meant all the rooms had to be squeezed a little to fit. A 40" range just takes up too much room in a small kitchen so builders bought 30" units and drove the market.

 

[circlew]

I was thinking the first 30" was by Frigidaire, as my neighbor at the corner (still there at 91)had one in her house that they built in '50 or '51. It was still working when she replaced it in the late 60's to get a self-clean oven.

All the homes on my block were built specifically for the owners, over a period of many years. The eastern part is a mix of houses built between the late 1800's and the 1960's. The western portions of the streets were opened in the late 1940's, with houses constructed from that time until the mid 1980's. The occupants of this block range from lower middle class to quite well-to-do. So a variety of all things is seen.

The first tract type development around here is a couple blocks over. The homes were built from around '54 to '58. They were aimed at the returning Korean War GI's, and were very basic. Many of them had no ceilings, no closets, no kitchen cabinets other than the sink unit, and certainly didn't include any appliances. Floors were asphalt tile over the slab. I believe they sold for around $5000. The next development was started around 1960 and was mostly finished by the 70's, and the builder had some model homes, but most were built for the buyer. He would use his plans or the owners, so some variety of styles and sizes. Most of the houses in that subdivision had built-in ovens and cooktops, usually GE or Frigidaire, but have seen Hotpoint and others. The builder's own home had a beautiful Frigidaire kitchen in Turquoise, with double wall ovens, and seperate fridge and freezer. A couple other developements have been constructed since that time, with one continuing at present, but I've not been in any of those houses, as I don't know any of the occupants. Housing developments built for the speculative market seem to be much more common closer to the city; some of them very expensive. My area is a small town, and most of the residents tend to stay around long term. Anyone spending big bucks around here is going to want their home built to suit them. I read statistics saying the average person stays in their residence 5 years before moving, and just laugh. Around here, it's more like 25 or more. Some of my neighbors have been in their homes over 50.