Buechel Terrace Neighborhood Association

Gunnison Homes

Jun 27, 2008

Almost all of the houses in Buechel Terrace are known as ?“Gunnison Homes?” for the company that developed their design in the 1940s. Look around the wall near your back door and you might find a small metal plate bearing the company name and logo.

Fred Gunnison, the designer, often said he wanted to do for the American home what Henry Ford had done for the automobile. He began his career as lighting engineer. Two of his most notable projects in his early career where the lighting systems of the Empire State Building and Rockefeller Center.

In 1935, Gunnison organized his own company in New Albany, Indiana. Its purpose was to develop affordable housing using assembly line techniques. Gunnison?’s specialty became the one-story house that could be assembled on site from ready-made components. The wall components included steel casement windows and wooden doors.

The standard wall panel measured 4 by 8 feet and it could be expanded by 4 foot increments as needed. These panels were made with ?¼ plywood, wood framing, and rock wool insulation. An adhesive was added just before these materials were bonded together in a hot plate press. The company said these panels had the insulation value of 22 inches of concrete.

Tests at a University of Kentucky lab determined these panels could sustain a vertical load of 22,000 pounds. Gunnison reported that his design was based on the same stressed-skin principle used on airplane wings to achieve lightness, strength, and durability.

Marine-grade plywood was added later for the exterior. Walls and roof sections were bolted together and also to the home?’s foundation.

4,400 Gunnison Homes were sold before World War II. By 1951, the company reported that its houses had been built in 44 states. Gunnison had designed 11 different models by that time.

Gunnison said that he chose the New Albany location because of its access to supplies and materials and its central location. US Steel Corp purchased a controlling interest in the business in 1944 with Gunnison continuing to manage its operations until his retirement in 1953. The plant continued in operation until 1974.

It?’s said that Gunnison Homes were a big hit because they were priced-right and well-built.