Wednesday, April 15, 2020

Federal Moderne kitchen

Andrea DiNoto, Art Plastic, Design for living, Abbeville Press, New York, 1984

This 1942 photo accompanied an article on federally-funded housing for defence workers in the Springfield, Massachusetts Sunday Republican magazine. The Lucy Mallary Village, as it were known, was designed by Royal Barry Wills, an architect had been known locally for his new take on New England style homes. The homes featured a modest yet modern kitchen with new chrome and plastic appliances, including an electric toaster, portable radio and waffle iron and reflected the disappearance of the servant class in the middle class.
 Mrs Carl Farnham, who posed for the photo, recalled that these up-to-the-minute devices did not always work as intended. 
 The area of Springfield called the Lucy Mallary Village has not aged well. Google Ames St. Springfield.




at

4 comments:

  1. VectorWarbirdsApril 16, 2020 at 9:26 PM

    I have a percolator like Mrs. Farnham has there behind that toaster, it was my Grandmothers, it has made my morning coffee for the last 40 years without fail. I think it was made in 1939.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousApril 17, 2020 at 9:35 PM

    The thing I noticed was the paper towel holder. Wiki says paper towels were introduced in that form in 1931. Who knew?

    The things you learn on this blog...

    ReplyDelete
  3. Mister GApril 20, 2020 at 10:05 PM

    Thanks, I never knew that either! You're right, who knew?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Mister GApril 23, 2020 at 9:16 PM

    Re the paper towel holder. Note the direction of rotation, seems to be backwards to the current facebook meme thought process. :-)
    .

    ReplyDelete