frame house colors of the 50s

[jsmvmd]

Dear Gene,

Western PA, including Pittsburgh had a lot of what we called "Insulbrick" which was a tar based siding shingle with small aggregate impregnated in the surface.  Our house was a dark dull gray. I have seen reds, etc that weathered ugly and dark.  One still sees a lot of this stuff, especially in the Mon Valley where my mother now lives.

Northern Indiana has lots of white frame houses, mostly small towns of 50 to 150 houses, sometimes less.  Bigger towns have a variety of clapboard, brick, etc.

Lancaster Co, PA has lots of limestone faced buildings.

Best Wishes,

Jack

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

Lancaster Co, PA has lots of limestone faced buildings.

That being the part of the state where I was raised, I feel qualified to add that that part of Pennsylvania also has a lot of buildings faced with a fake stone that my dad always called "formstone."

FWIW. ...

[Yampa Bob]

There was an article about using "Insulbrick" in a 2007 edition of Railroad Modeler Craftsman. I don't know who makes the stuff for HO scale, but it looked pretty neat on an old house for a layout. Very realistic.

I need to dig through my magazines to find the article. I don't subscribe but my son gave me a pile of back issues.