{"nrhp_refnum":"09000572","name":"Lustron Houses of Jermain Street Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"1,3,5,7,8 Jermain St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Albany","county":"Albany County","state":"NY","lat":42.681699398000035,"lon":-73.80110214199993,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2009-07-29","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Engineering","Industry","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small residential historic district of five Lustron prefabricated steel houses (four contributing, one noncontributing) at 1, 3, 5, 7 and 8 Jermain Street in Albany, New York, built in 1949 by Upstate Construction Corporation.","why_significant":"The district is argued to be architecturally significant as rare, remarkably intact examples of Lustron Corporation's porcelain-enameled steel prefabricated houses. It is also tied to post-World War II housing growth, suburban expansion and assembly-line prefabrication. It is documented as the largest contiguous, fully intact group of Lustron houses in New York State.","narrative":"Jermain Street in western Albany holds a small group of Lustron houses, prefabricated homes sold by the Lustron Corporation after World War II. Five Westchester Deluxe two-bedroom models were built here in 1949 by Upstate Construction Corporation, and four are counted as contributing. Their walls and roofs are porcelain-enameled steel panels in original colors such as Surf Blue, Dove Gray, Maize Yellow and Desert Tan. The house at 1 Jermain lost its steel panels and is noncontributing. Albany's building commissioner first refused permits because city codes did not cover this construction method, and permits were granted in January 1949 after an appeal. Lustron went bankrupt in June 1950, and three more houses on the street were later taken by the state for highway work. The district is documented as the largest contiguous, intact collection of Lustron houses in New York State, and it is significant for architecture and for its link to postwar housing and prefabrication.","period_of_significance":"1949-1950","architect_builder":"Carl Strandlund - Inventor; Roy Blass & MH Beckman - Architects; Upstate Construction Corp. - Contractor, Albany, N.Y.","architectural_style":"Modern Movement: Prefab, Lustron Westchester","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"7 Jermain Street was unoccupied after a winter 2009 fire in its rear addition, with its windows covered. The other houses are listed as single-family dwellings.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:50:48.274462-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NY/09000572.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000572/0377e9f270-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/09000572/0377e9f270-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"UpstateNYer","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jermain_Street_Albany.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">UpstateNYer</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jermain_Street_Albany.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/75312079","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lustron_Houses_of_Jermain_Street_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6705308"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/new-york/albany-county/lustron-houses-of-jermain-street-historic-district-09000572/"}