House at 130 Mohegan Avenue facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
|
|
House at 130 Mohegan Avenue
|
|
 |
|
 Location in Connecticut
Location in the United States
|
|
| Location | 130 Mohegan Ave., New London, Connecticut, United States |
|---|---|
| Built | 1933 |
| Architect | Howard T. Fisher |
| Architectural style | International style |
| NRHP reference No. | 08001379 |
| Added to NRHP | October 28, 2009 |
The House at 130 Mohegan Avenue is also known as the House of Steel or Steel House. It is a special type of house called a "prefabricated" home. This means it was built in parts somewhere else and then put together on site. It is located in New London, Connecticut, United States.
The house was designed by Howard T. Fisher in 1932. A professor named Winslow Ames had the house built after seeing similar homes at a big fair in Chicago. The House of Steel is a single-story home made of steel. It measures about 21 feet (6.4 m) by 37 feet (11 m). It sits on a concrete base. Originally, it had a flat roof and a garage. Over the years, the house was changed, and a sloped (gable) roof was added.
Winslow Ames used the house as a rental property. Later, Connecticut College owned it and rented it out. In 2004, the house was almost torn down. But a person named Doug Royalty helped save it. The house was restored, and the work finished in 2013. It cost about $500,000 to restore. The House of Steel was added to the Connecticut Historic Register in 2007. It was also added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.
Building the Steel House
The House of Steel was designed by Howard T. Fisher. He started a company called General Houses, Inc. in 1932. Winslow Ames, an art history professor at Connecticut College, asked Fisher to build the house. Ames was also the art director at the Lyman Allyn Art Museum.
In 1933, Ames saw some prefabricated homes at a fair in Chicago. He was very interested in "Modernism," which was a new way of thinking about art and design. He believed these types of pre-made houses would become very popular. So, he decided to build two of them on land owned by the museum.
The House of Steel was finished in November 1933. It cost about $4,500 to build. The house is a single story and made of steel. It measures about 21 feet (6.4 m) by 37 feet (11 m). The house does not have a traditional frame. Instead, its weight is held up by large steel panels. These panels are 4 feet (1.2 m) by 9 feet (2.7 m) in size. The outside panels are bolted together. The inside walls are also made of steel and filled with insulation.
When it was first built, the house had a flat roof. At some point, this was changed to a sloped (gable) roof. The house has two bedrooms, one bathroom, and an open area for living, dining, and cooking. It also has a garage attached to it.
How the House Was Used
After it was built, Winslow Ames rented out the House of Steel. He continued to rent it until 1949. That year, he moved to work at a museum in Missouri. Then, Connecticut College bought the house. The college kept renting it to staff and students.
In 2004, the college planned to tear down the house. The change from a flat roof to a gable roof was a big change from the original design. We don't know exactly when this change happened, but it was before 1995.
Saving and Restoring the House
In 2008, a newspaper article talked about how the effort to save the house began. A specialist named Doug Royalty was studying old prefabricated homes. He learned about the House of Steel. Royalty then talked to Abigail Van Slyck. She was the head of the art history department at Connecticut College.
The newspaper said that the house's history was a new discovery. However, its story had actually been mentioned in a 1995 document for another historic house. That document talked about the House of Steel's beginnings. After the house was "re-discovered," Connecticut College started getting money to restore it. Doug Royalty and Abigail Van Slyck led this effort. Royalty said that the House of Steel is very rare. There are only a few like it left in the United States.
In April 2007, the leaky roof was fixed. In December 2007, the house received a grant of $28,500. This money was used to safely remove lead paint. By 2010, more money was given for the restoration. Other grants from the college also helped with planning the preservation.
The celebration for the finished restoration was held in October 2013. The total cost to restore the house was about $500,000. The building was carefully taken apart. Then, it was moved to Philadelphia. There, it was treated to prevent rust. Finally, it was put back together on the college campus. A company called Milner + Carr did the work. The House of Steel was added to the Connecticut Historic Register in July 2007. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on October 28, 2009.
