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@lovelylovely
If any of LA Times' writers are younger than 70 years old, no wonder they find it a mystery. They likely flipped off Boomers instead of paying attention.

@ClaraListensprechen4 @lovelylovely
Lord knows it was not good for a whole lot of marginalized people. But there still was a middle class for us straight privileged whites. We bought a house in 1973. Paid for it on my salary as my wife has never worked ouside the home since i graduated from college in 1970 with no student loan debt.

@dbc3 @ClaraListensprechen4

And many black families too mine being one.

@lovelylovely @dbc3
Of course, but in terms of buying a middle class house, I'm sorry to report that "red-lining" remains alive and well today and in some areas on stearoids.

@ClaraListensprechen4 @dbc3 Absolutely, My parents bought there home in 1967 in the city of Gardena California until 2012.

@lovelylovely

People also bought much smaller and cheaper homes for a period there. The whole "pre-built" home craze was around that time and they didnt quite last sadly.

@ClaraListensprechen4 @dbc3

@freemo @ClaraListensprechen4 @dbc3

What?

@lovelylovely

They were called prefab homes. Fully made at a factory and just moved in place and plopped down. Very cheap, popular from the early 1960s onward, and fell apart very easily.

https://builtprefab.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/prefab-housing-estate-post-wwii-600x338.jpg

@ClaraListensprechen4 @dbc3

@freemo @lovelylovely @ClaraListensprechen4

I had an assignment as a young engineer to test transporting them on railcars. Told them it would not work but the company had a friend in high places in my company.. Built a frame with outriggers to put on container cars. Loaded up one of their modules - a 10 by 40 ft quarter of a house-to-be. Did our standard impact test - let the car roll down a grade and hit a parked car loaded with gravel and brakes locked. Result? see next:

@freemo @lovelylovely @ClaraListensprechen4
Staircase broke free, sailed from one end to the other, taking out everything in its path.

@dbc3 @freemo @lovelylovely
That must have been a cinematic spectacle.

@ClaraListensprechen4 @freemo @lovelylovely All we had was a view of the aftermath when we opened it up and went inside. I had to keep myself from laughing since the factory rep was so disappointed.

@dbc3

It seems like a rather exagerated test to be honest... I mean few things would survive that yet would be perfectly fine on an otherwise normal railway trip..

Im guessing it was more a safety test or something?

@ClaraListensprechen4 @lovelylovely