Pre-Fab Plattsburgh

Last Offered 2016. Not currently being offered.

Following World War II, along with mass production, expanded transportation, and a growing middle-class, came the need for stylish, affordable, and easily constructed homes. Join Dr. Daniel Reiff, Distinguished Service Emeritus Professor at Fredonia State University in Art History, an expert in kit homes and author of Houses from Books, for a presentation and discussion on catalog homes in Plattsburgh and northern New York.

Dr. Reiff’s illustrated talk will survey the development of pre-cut “kit” houses as well as prefabricated dwellings throughout America during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, providing the context for buildings found in Plattsburgh. His talk will focus on the development of houses sold by firms such as Aladdin and Sears, as well as the all-steel Lustron homes.

Following the lecture, Dr. Reiff will co-lead a walking tour of notable examples of this architecture in Plattsburgh, including a row of rare Lustrons.

The lecture begins at 10 a.m. in Yokum Hall on the campus of SUNY Plattsburgh. The optional tour will begin around 11 a.m.

This program is free and pre-registration is not required, but it is appreciated. The tour is co-sponsored by the Clinton County Historical Association.

Directions & Parking at SUNY Plattsburgh | Talk is at Yokum Hall: 107 Broad St., SUNY Plattsburgh, Plattsburgh, NY

Directions to SUNY’s Yokum Hall and Parking Lot #9 | Map for Yokum Hall Parking Lot #9 | Yokum Hall Floor Plan

TOUR REGISTRATION INFORMATION

More information on pre-fab architecture: Daniel D. Reiff’s comprehensive book on the subject, Houses from Books: Treatises, Pattern Books, and Catalogs in American Architecture, 1738-1950: A History and Guide. More information on early twentieth-century catalog homes: Kit Homes website