Kelvinator Foodarama

[bugsyjones]

Yeah, I'm looking for one.

There was one REAL close to me. Somebody already had plans to buy it. A '59 model I believe. It wasn't in that great of shape. It still worked because in the photos, the top half of the freezer was all frosted up. It was missing quite a few things that would be very difficult to locate. And it was pretty beat up from usage.

Anyway, yeah. I'm looking for one. Any of the stocky 50's style ones from 55-59. I'm not interested in sheer look 'trimwall' Foodaramas. Kelvinator or Leonard brand, as long as it's a Foodarama.

If you would keep your eyes peeled for me I'd love you forever. Any craigslist links or the like, please post them here. If it's private or personal in nature, e-mail me. [email protected]

Thank you!

~Tim

 

[danemodsandy]

Tim:

Do you have any pics of that '59 you could post? That's my favourite iteration of the Foodarama. The earlier ones have their '50s charm, but my heart belongs to the later ones.

 

[bugsyjones]

I do have some pictures of it.

But they are all close-up shots.

The only full shots are on the craigslist ad.

I believe this is a 59.

You can see it's missing alot of components and the freezer is all frosted up.

~Tim

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/atq/1558803057.html

 

[danemodsandy]

Tim:

Evidently I don't have the right idea about when Kelvy changed from that rounded cabinet style to the square-cornered Sheer Look style seen in the '60s. Here's a pic of the Foodarama generation I like:

 

[bugsyjones]

You know....

I'm not sure either.

Since I haven't seen a confirmed '58 Foodarama, I only assumed this one was a '59. I've had conflicting results when it comes to the 59's. I've heard they were the old style and I've heard they were the trimwall style.

Have you seen the movie Pleasantville? If not, there's a Foodarama in their kitchen. It has unusual oval-looking vertical handles that are completely foreign to me. I've never seen a Foodarama like it. I assumed since I'd never seen a '58 and Pleasantville was set in the year 1958, that it was probably a '58.

I know the Pleasantville Foodarama is not a 55, 56, or 57. And it looks just like this "59" that I was interested in, except with strange oval handles.

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value=""></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

~Tim

 

[bugsyjones]

Pleasantville Kitchen

~Tim

 

[goatfarmer]

Lot o' money for that one missing parts......

 

[bugsyjones]

Goatfarmer

Too much money for the condition.

Evidently I wasn't quick enough, because they said someone had already made an offer. I'm pretty sure they won't be getting that much for it, if the buyer isn't a scammer.

You know how Craigslist is.

What I was more interested in was the location. It's only a two hour drive from here.

~Tim

 

[danemodsandy]

Tim:

You know what I think? While I'm certainly no expert on Foodaramas, I think Hollywood has done it again.

I think what happened in Pleasantville was that different handles got put on a Foodarama. Maybe the handles on the reefer were missing when the studio bought it or rented it, or someone might have thought the real handles were too plain. Those handles look to me as if they could be Norge handles, which were oval.

For the purposes of shooting a movie, the only restoration that would have been done was just enough necessary to make it look good to the camera. They typically don't do any functional restoration, because they don't want the thing actually running anyway - the compressor noise would be a problem with the soundtrack. If it needs the interior light to work, or frost in the freezer, their prop people know how to make all that happen without the thing being functional as a fridge. If they actually need a compressor noise, they dub it in later in places where it doesn't interfere with what the actors are saying.

If anyone has any really clear shots, like captures from a DVD, it would be great to have a better look at this.

 

[danemodsandy]

Oh, and Tim:

The ad I posted is from a 1959 issue of American Home, so that's what the '59s looked like.

Going over what I've seen of the earlier, rounded Foodaramas, it looks to me like Kelvy took the whiz-bang handles seen earlier off the Foodarama in '57 or '58, replacing them with the simpler handle seen on the one you found. I have an idea that this would have been done in response to Frigidaire's Sheer Look, which pretty instantly made everything else on the market look dated. It would have taken Kelvy some time to restyle the whole reefer, so simplifying the handles would have been the best they could do as an immediate response. That was a very expensive fridge in its day, and I'm sure the Sheer Look caused Kelvy lots of pain, because it dated their flagship model and probably cost them sales.

 

[danemodsandy]

P.S., Tim:

I just sent you a copy of the 1955 Foodarama owner's manual as a zip file; check your email.

 

[bugsyjones]

Danemodsandy

Thanks for your input.

I guess I never thought about the prop team replacing the handles. But it makes perfect sense. The oval handles probably looked more 'fifties' than the originals.

The 59 Trimwall advert is proof that Kelvinator discontinued the old body.

I therefore have come to the conclusion that the last year for the old body Foodarama was 1958. And I conclude that my craigslist find is a 58.

I have compiled a collage of Foodarama handles.

Thanks! And keep looking out for one for me!

 

[alr2903]

Not to get off topic, but Hotpoint also made a sxs that was about 40 inches wide the fridge and freezer were the same width. Talk about cabinet alterations before delivery and after they failed. They were beautiful and distinctly american. alr2903