Arlington’s best-preserved historic Lustron home will soon be the entryway to a new exhibit about prefabricated architecture at the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA). A few weeks ago the Arlington County Board approved an agreement to lend, at no cost to the County, Arlington’s Clifford M. Krowne Lustron House to MoMA.
This historic Lustron house was donated to Arlington County by Clifford M. Krowne. Lustron homes are prefabricated, all-metal homes built during WWII.
Background
In April 2006, the County Board accepted the donation of the historic, all-metal Lustron house from property owner Dr. Clifford M. Krowne. Over the course of a month, the County then disassembled the building and placed it in temporary storage. Last year, MoMA learned of Arlington’s Lustron disassembly and asked to feature the house in an upcoming exhibit. The MoMA exhibit, “Home Delivery: Fabricating the Modern Dwelling,” opens this month — July 20 — and runs through October 20. MoMa is paying for the transportation and assembly of the house.
Arlington now has only five of its original 11 Lustron homes. The Krowne Lustron House, built in 1949, is a Westchester Deluxe 02 model with two bedrooms, one bathroom, and 1,085 square feet of living space on one level.
