Encyclopedia Dubuque
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
HOME MODERNIZATION
HOME MODERNIZATION. In 1934 the Telegraph-Herald and Times-Journal entered into a project to showcase the aims and purposes of the Federal Housing Administration and Home Owners' Loan Corporation.
The newspaper purchased a property at 1890 South Grandview with a two-story frame house on a lot with 64 feet frontage on Grandview and a depth of 127 feet. The plan was to convert the house, constructed in 1890, in a comfortable modern home with an expenditure, included the cost of the property, not to exceed a total of $6,500. The modernization would be done in accordance with plans of the National Housing Administration in a step-by-step procedure. Although the project called for the modernization of the entire house, the work would be done in a series of smaller projects any of which might be of interest to a home owner. These projects would include reroofing, painting, modernizing a basement or living room, and decorating.
In conjunction with the project, the newspaper sponsored a writing contest. The winner of the contest entitled "It Pays to Modernize," would receive $25, with $15 for second place, and $10 for third. The essay was limited to fifty words.
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Source:
"House Built in 1890 to Serve as an Example," Telegraph-Herald and Times-Journal, October 12, 1934, p. 1