The makers of the Youngstown Kitchen line of porcelain steel cabinetry and sinks had a rich history in Salem, Warren and Youngstown, Ohio. Kitterage, Clark and Company was founded in Salem in 1872, and made metal building ornaments. The firm changed names and owners several times, until William H. Mullins purchased it in 1882. W. H. Mullins Company expanded its plant and product lines to include metal outdoor statuary, weathervanes and finials, metal boats and motors, and steel car body parts for the automobile industry in the early 20
John Pew secured patents for fabricating metal roofing panels, and he established the Youngstown Iron and Steel Roofing Company in Youngstown in 1894. In 1905 the firm expanded with pressed steel products, making automobile and agricultural components. Sharon Steel Hoop Company purchased Youngstown Iron and Steel in 1917, reorganized the company as a subsidiary, and named it Youngstown Pressed Steel Company. YPS built a new manufacturing plant and relocated to Warren in 1920. They entered the porcelain steel market around 1930 with a line of stamped steel sinks that weighed much less than cast iron fixtures.
Mullins and Youngstown Pressed Steel merged in 1937 under the name Mullins Manufacturing Corporation. The new firm hired George E. Whitlock of Toledo, Ohio, to be President and Chief Executive Officer. Mullins first introduced a line of porcelain enameled steel cabinets in 1940. Like most steel manufacturers, Mullins dedicated its production lines to military orders during World War II. After the war Mullins restarted and expanded their Youngstown Kitchen line to include sinks, base cabinets, countertops, upper cabinets and tall utility cabinets. All of their production facilities in Warren and most of the plant in Salem were dedicated to producing porcelain steel components.
Cook Ave #5, Youngstown, Oh 44512
Competition was fierce for both metal and wood kitchen cabinetry during the great housing boom in the late-1940s and 1950s. With a nationwide network of showrooms and home salespersons, Mullins touted their Youngstown Kitchen line as the best selling steel kitchen cabinets among 62 competing firms in their 1950s advertising. In 1956 Mullins merged with the American Radiator & Standard Sanitary Corporation. The production facilities in Warren and Salem, and administrative and sales staff became a subsidiary of American-Standard called the Youngstown Kitchen Division.
W. H. Mullins made an 18-foot tall statue of Diana that was designed by sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens and placed on top of the tower of the new Madison Square Garden in 1891. It later was exhibited at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. The figure of Diana became the logo for Mullins and was incorporated in the name plates for Youngstown Kitchen cabinets.
This collection includes a used porcelain steel sink top and base cabinet, used upper cabinet, 3-new old stock base cabinets, a new old stock corner lazy susan cabinet, 2-new old stock whatnot shelves, a new old stock circular end shelving unit, 4-new old stock sections of chrome steel countertops with Cusheen-brand coverings, and a new old stock General Electric Airliner range.
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Purchase of this collection was made possible by a generous contribution from Michael and Jeanette Garvey, Owners of M-7 Technologies, Inc., Youngstown, Ohio, in memory of George E. Whitlock, President of Mullins Manufacturing Corporation, 1937-1956.
The Mahoning Valley Historical Society acknowledges the contributions and cooperation of the following in bringing this collection to the Tyler Mahoning Valley History Center:
The cabinets are now being displayed as part of a new exhibit at The Arms Family Museum, 648 Wick Avenue in Youngstown. Mid Century Modern in the Mahoning Valley is now open Tuesday through Sunday from Noon to 4:00 p.m. Admission is $7 for adults, $6 for seniors and $5 for children.“…Ironically, it would be loaded on to a rail car and shipped back by rail to Ohio. Probably the same way it was shipped from Ohio to California 70 years ago.” — Ben Casado
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When we broke the story last fallthat a complete set of New Old Stock 1948 Youngstown Kitchens cabinets — plus Cusheen countertops — plus GE Airliner range—had been found in storagein California, many ofus agreed it should end up in a museum. And guess what: It did! A reader of the blog started a campaign to buy it… the local TV news picked up the story… and overnight, donors came forward. Now: These cabinets are back home in their native land, Youngstown, Ohio, on display attheTyler Mahoning Valley History Center.
After our story broke, Ben (the seller) received many offers to purchase the set. He was… deluged, actually. Ultimately, he decided to sell this amazing piece of history to The Mahoning Valley Historical Society.
Mega thanks to Ben for bothrescuing this set and finding a new home where it will be cherished, taken care of and on display for everyone to see!
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Once the set arrived in Youngstown and was unpacked and set up, we heard fromH. William Lawson, Executive Director of The Mahoning Valley Historical Society, who wrote:
Hello again Pam, It’s been a while since we last chatted, but I wanted to inform you that the Mahoning Valley Historical Society (MVHS) is now in possession of the nearly new 1948 Youngstown Kitchen set that Ben was offering last year, and was featured on your website! Here is apress release with more details: Vintage Youngstown Kitchen Steel Cabinet Set Returns to the Valley A collection of pristine Youngstown Kitchen cabinets was recently acquired by the Mahoning Valley Historical Society, and are now on exhibit at the Tyler Mahoning Valley History Center.
Last fall, through the power of social media, the Mahoning Valley Historical Society in Youngstown, Ohio, received a donation to purchase a set of mostly unused, new old stock Youngstown Kitchen porcelain steel cabinets and countertops. The cabinets were ordered in 1948 for a kitchen installation that was never completed, and were sitting, still in their shipping boxes, in a home in California. After a blog post on the site www.-staging.enwf9w61-liquidwebsites.com, the seller was bombarded with offers, and was thrilled when the Historical Society showed an interest. The Historical Society received the generous gift from Michael and Jeanette Garvey, owners of M-7 Technologies in Youngstown. They made the donation in memory of the late George E. Whitlock, who was President of Mullins Manufacturing Corporation of Warren and Salem, Ohio, from 1937-1956, which made the Youngstown Kitchen brand of porcelain steel cabinets. Mullins merged with the American Radiator and Standard Sanitary Corporation in 1956, and the Youngstown Kitchen line became a division of American-Standard. The Garvey family were Mr. Whitlock’s next-door neighbors in Warren when Michael Garvey was growing up.
Coitsville Hubbard Road, Youngstown, Oh 44505, Mls #4423042
Ben Casado, the seller in Galt, California, built custom crates for all of the components in the kitchen cabinet set. The crates arrived in Warren in late-December, through coordination of shipping by the management and staff of B. J. Alan Company, a nationwide wholesaler and retailer of fireworks owned and operated in the Mahoning Valley, and Historical Society Board member Scott Zoldan. B. J. Alan happens to have a distribution center in Sacramento, CA, which is near to Mr. Casado’s residence.
The crates arrived at the Tyler History Center on Tuesday, January 17, 2016, and the Youngstown Kitchen components and GE Airliner electric range were carefully unpacked and inspected. The cabinets were installed in a temporary exhibit in the first floor Exhibit Gallery at the Tyler History Center that opened Saturday, January 30. This preview exhibit runs through April 30, 2016.The Tyler History Center, located at 325 West Federal Street in downtown Youngstown, is open to the public Tuesday-Sunday from Noon to 4:00 p.m. Admission is $4 for adults, $3 for seniors (over 60) and college students, and $2 for children. For more information, visit www.mahoninghistory.org or call 330-743-2589.
Reaction from our community has been very positive…lots of visitors have been drawn to the Tyler History Center specifically to see the Youngstown Kitchen set. In the future, we want to work with other local historical agencies, libraries, museums, etc., in the Youngstown-Warren area on traveling installations so that more people have an opportunity to see this nearly perfectly preserved kitchen set.
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Pam also reached to Ben — who isa friendby now — to ask how he felt now that the cabinets had found a new home. He replied right back:
Hi Pam! I think the last time we spoke, I was in the process of closing the deal with Mahoning Valley Historical Society. I was pleased to announce to you and to all others concerned that this kitchen set was bound for Ohio its place of origin. Little did I know: The work was about to begin! Working with Bill Lawson from Mahoning Valley Historical Society was a real pleasure, and things were moving real smooth.I think we both felt that this transition was going to be easy. Well, it’s so happens that shipping an entire kitchen set, a very fragile 1948 kitchen, across United States wasn’t going to be that easy for us. Our first thought was using amoving van (Mayflower etc.), but that idea fell through… Our next idea was maybe to use a common carrier, the problem with that was the expense $$$. So,
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