Home-of-Tomorrow

MANSFIELD – In the early 1930s, Mansfield was host to a home of the future.

Today it is a Private Home & can not be visited, except by a drive-by

Built on the edge of the Woodland neighborhood, the Westinghouse “Home of Tomorrow” was created to showcase all of the electrical appliances made by the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing company. The house served as a research home where all Westinghouse appliances were tested in use, from stoves to waffle irons.

These days the house at 895 Andover Road is the private home to the Blankenship family, but it has quickly become a home of “yesterday” more than tomorrow. According to homeowners Todd and Kelly Blankenship, the house was originally built in 1934.

“Apparently they put up fences around the house so nobody could see any construction,” Todd said. “It was complete secrecy.”
Living room

 Living room

The “Home of Tomorrow” originally opened to the public in February 1934 and remained open for 14 months, attracting at least 75,000 visitors. It brought to Mansfield electrical engineers, home economists and laymen from every state as well as many from foreign countries.

“They staged it so it was a living house,” Todd said. “At that point they were working with ‘Good Housekeeping’ magazine in making this the ideal area for women taking care of the house; they were going to be the answer to all that. And electricity wasn’t in every house at that point either, so it was kind of a big deal.”

The “Home of Tomorrow” originally opened to the public in February 1934 and remained open for 14 months, attracting at least 75,000 visitors. It brought to Mansfield electrical engineers, home economists and laymen from every state as well as many from foreign countries.

“They staged it so it was a living house,” Todd said. “At that point they were working with ‘Good Housekeeping’ magazine in making this the ideal area for women taking care of the house; they were going to be the answer to all that. And electricity wasn’t in every house at that point either, so it was kind of a big deal.”

About a year after its opening, the “Home of Tomorrow” was closed to the public and the “Home of Tomorrow Institute” was established, providing special training for home economists from all over the country. With accommodations for no more than six students, the home was taxed to capacity at all times with visitors coming for special training as guests of Westinghouse.

The Westinghouse “Home of Tomorrow” was permanently closed on June 2, 1936, announced by officials of the Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing company. A couple presidents of Westinghouse lived in the home after its official closing, but for many years the home was occupied by “normal” people.

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