The Washington times., 1921-04-16
LAKE MAY SOLVE
HOUSING PROBLEM
Submarine Inventor Offers New
Homes Under Plan That
Is Attractive.


Simon Lake, inventor and subma-
rine builder. says he is now on the
way toward quick solution OF the ma
tion's housing problem.
1t Is the Sunshine Home
To start the metropolitan masses
on the same road, Director Robert H.
Sexton. of the National Own-Your-
Home Expositions. is preparing to
make the solution a feature of New
York's third annual show in the
Twenty-second Regiment Armory. In
the words of the exposition chief.
the problem has been reduced to
| this:
Suppose you are living in an apart
ment house where the landlord col
lects almost all your money for rent.
and the janitor ,annoys you. and the
cold nearly kills you, and your wife
has threatened to leave you because
she must spend all her time in
housework and when spring comes
around you long for a little plot of
dirt to rake and sow and worry over
until the first blade appears, and yet
the architect tells you that 1t wfll
cost lot of money to design a home
small enough for your income and
| needs and that materials are very
high. and you were told that you
might wire to Bridgeport and order
concrete home just the color you
desire, with the windows where you
want them, with no bedrooms or din
ing room for your wife to care for,
but with a push of a button you can
lower bed from the ceiling, and
that this house will be delivered to
you by truck, T. o. b., all complete,
to your site in eight days fer $1,000
What would you say?"
SAMPLE HOME BUILT.
The answer. according to Director
Sexton. must be rush for the Simon
Lake plants and houses. A full-size
sample Sunshine Home will be, built
In the armory for the Own-Your-Own
Home Show. The versatile inventor
has designed, too. specially con-
structed ten-wheel steel truck. on
which house will be placed as or
dered and motored to the buyer.
'Since we delivered house five
miles from our plant, we are so sure
Of the commercial value of these
trucks that we are planning to es-
tablish service department for own
ers of Sunshine Homes" said Robert
c. Lafferty. the architect associated
in the Lake designing, yesterday
For instance. family dwelling in
town during the winter may wish 10
enjoy the comforts OF the seashore
in hot weather. A suitable site, either
bought or rented, and one of our
steel trucks transports the house to
the seashore. Pictures may be left
hanging on the wall and books in the
bookcases and the family dining in
New York one night may sup at the
seashore the next. The 10-wheel truck
in itself Is an invention of moment"
Ten plants at different points of
the country, supplied with forms ma
terial and supervision from the par.
ent plant In Bridgeport will be es-
tablished in the late spring or early
fall The estimated output OF each
plant when first in running order will
be four houses complete a day. Lates
the output will be increased up to
twelve day. Negotiations have been
opened already for plant in Brook
lyn to supply the Long Island suburbs
as well as Westchester County.
ADAPTED FOR FAMILY.
The unit home Is adaptable for a
family of three and comfortable for
four. But the one unit may have
others added. 1t consists of fou-
rooms, two dressing rooms and
bath. Later, in the stated eight days.
another unit, possibly a second floor or
wing, may be added to the home
just as one would order additional
sectional file or bookcases. The mod
est first unit home may be built into
ten-unit mansion. The additional
units are brought one at a load by
truck as soon as completed. II a
second story they are raised in the
air by means of pulleys over the first
unit and lowered into a firm position
on top of 1t. Models of the additional
a re N ha 10,
one-unit home.
While the one unit house costs
1880 and up. (. o. b. lot. builders
have estimated that to build these
houses individually the cost would be
close to $4,000 each. With the So
called fixtures, disappearing beds,
table and the like furnished with the
house 5000 will do the rest for furni-
ture, linen, kitchen utensils, as little
furniture is needed. Two unit houses
will cost about $4,000; three, $4,000.
WILL ADVANCE CAPITAL
Officers of New York State savings
and loans associations, who also will
exhibit at the show, declare readiness
to advance capital on Sunshine
Homes. 1t is expected that the initial
payment will be as low as $500 on
the frst-unit home, the remainder to |
NC paiu III ioW ihsidiiiuents as rent
Other features of the show will be |
displays of twenty nine prize winning
designs from the recent national
small house competition under the |
auspices of the American Institute of |
Architects in connection with the ex-
positions. The Twenty second ReRi- |
ment Armory will be transformed into |
a miniature mushroom town Of streets
bordered by small houses in lumber. |
brick. and stucco, complete in every |
detail. Every phase of sitting, |
financing, constructing, furnishing.
and decorating of the home will be |