The kitchens and laundry appliances of Habitat 67 in Montreal

[philr]

The thread about a '68 Frigidaire dishwasher in the Shopper's square section had me thinking about something I have been researching for a while... 

 

About the Frigidaire appliances that were used in some condos of Habitat 67.

 

 

http://www.habitat67.com/home.html

 

Habitat 67 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

 

 So far, I haven't seen much... Just pictures showing some of the original modified Compact 30 drop-in ranges still in use in some kitchens, but not much more... Frigidaire Canada had developed in 1965 "Ride Aire" pads that allowed lifting refrigerators with air blown from a vacuum cleaner. In 1966, some mobile dishwashers were also made with the same pads, instead of having casters but they also had a built-in air pump. Apparently, refrigerators and washers used in the bathrooms also used a setup that allowed to glide out the top loading Rollermatic washer and the dryers were mounted above the washers with the controls reversed. I have searched a lot for pictures of these machines but so far, I haven't found any. If anyone here happens to know more about these appliances or knows where to search for this info, I'd really like to get more information on them!

 

Paul told me he knew someone who lived in one of the condos that apparently still had the original appliances but they were Westinghouse...   And Coinamatic, a company who rents coin-operated laundry (I got a few Maytag sets from them for my former job) had Speed Queen coin-operated laundry somewhere in Habitat 67 (as seen in the ad in the last picture). Coinamatic also used to rent Frigidaire coin-operated machines in the 1960s-1970s but apparently, not there!

 

The link below shows more information about the appliances:

The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search

 

[appnut]

Phil, thank you.  Fascinating and beautiful!!!

 

[turquoisedude]

Again, one of those 'I wish I had taken pictures' scenarios....   The last living relative in Canada on my father's side had lived in a townhouse style unit at Habitat 67 from 1967 until 2005 - I vaguely remember visiting during the 'Expo 67' years, but I helped her move out of the unit and got a better look around.   The appliances in the kitchen were, as she claimed, the ones that had been there since she moved in.  The refrigerator, range, and dishwasher were definitely Westinghouse.  The range was one of those 'Terrace Top' slide-in models.  The laundry appliances were in the bathroom and these were late 70s White-Westinghouse stackables.  However, during the move, we had to go to the storage lockers in the basement and I saw a room where there were 5 or 6 stacked sets of 60s-look Westinghouse Space-Mates.   Oy, if I only knew then... 

 

[firedome]

very cool Phil...

I recall in the US in the '60s one of the appliance mfr's had that vacuum operated air-lift feature available on some fridges, I can't recall now, but it may well have been Frigidaire.

 

[philr]

Yes they were available in the US too. Frigidaire introduced the same feature the following year in the USA (usually, it was the opposite as Canada got new things much later!). Kenny sold me a brand new US-market "RIDE-AIRE" kit that I installed on one of my fridges.

 

Here's a picture showing a Canadian 1965 Frigidaire with the feature along with the description: 

http://www.automaticwasher.org/TD/JPEG/BASKET/2014/20140721/philr-2014072118471803437_1.jpg

 

 A 1966 US model on Google books. 

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See this video at 3:38:



 

 

[ovrphil]

PhilR - thanks for posting - interesting stuff with Moshe Safdie's Habitat 67 and 1967 was a great year, fyi.
I remember Montreal Expo 67 (still have some Life Magazine or other about it). A neighbor or family friend had a refrigerator that, with a vacuum, could lift the refrigerator easily to clean it. I remember thinking that it would become standard for all stoves and refrigerators. Too bad it didn't happen.

Interesting posting - if anyone is interested in seeing Habitat 67 closer and what M.Safdie is doing lately, here's a good CBS video(and those annoying commercials before it starts).

If I come across anything about the Frigidaire appliances in Habitat 67, I'll be sure to let you know, PhilR.

 

[philr]

Phil,

For some reason, I thought about you as someone who might be able to find more on the subject!