prewar and postwar residential building construction process

Thirteen million American men and women had returned from wartime military service, restarting lives that had been on hold since the Japanese navy attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941. The total wealth of the nation had doubled in just four years.Īmericans produced more food than they could eat, more clothing than they could wear, more steel than they could use, and pumped more than half of all the world's oil. Unnoticed by almost everyone except a few economists, the 'Arsenal of Democracy' had become rich. For the first time in a long, long time, the American workingman had money jingling in his pockets. The Great Depression was history – succumbing to the demands of wartime production.

Christmas in 1945 was celebrated in a world at peace for the first time in a decade. Nazi Germany, then Imperial Japan had unconditionally surrendered. The deadliest and most costly war of all time was finally over. It was a bright new world filled with nothing but promise. All of the 'strategic' materials needed to build housing went to war with our armed forces to build barracks, airfields, warehouses, and officer's clubs from Burma to Murmansk.īy the end of the war, housing demand had been steadily outstripping supply for an entire generation.īut, at the start of 1946, that was all in the past. They were a complete failure – largely ignored by all, landlord and tenant alike. Rents reached an all-time high in 1940, prompting the very first federal government rent controls. Decent housing of any kind was hard to find. Houses were being built but not nearly enough of them. The Great Depression of the 1930s depressed, among other things, home building. The end of the Second World War brought a sea change to American housing that In just 20 short years altered the entire American landscape, creating whole new towns and cities where none had existed before, and inventing an entirely new suburban lifestyle.īy 1946, the demand for new housing had been growing for years. Seamlessly incorporate a modern kitchen, bath or addition into your post-war modern home. We specialize in updating period homes while preserving the feel, style and craftsmanship of the historic era. Contact us for authentic Mid Century Modern design, preservation, restoration, renovation and remodeling services.

Prewar and postwar residential building construction process