About a month ago, Jared and I were on our normal estate sale search. We were over in the Milwaukee area when we happened to stumble upon a quaint little 1950s home. There was not to much as far as small items, but what we did find in the basement was huge (literally)! We had stumbled upon the homes original 1956 General Electric Combination Refrigerator & Freezer. The best part was that it was a steal of a sale for only $50.00!
This big guy is now known as…The Refrigerator. I do not even know where to begin my excitement for this find. From the sleek rounded corners to the foot pedal that pops the bottom freezer open to the shiny chrome that beams your reflection back to the most wondrous chrome REVOLVING shelves... this piece truly is like something from another worldly place!
Not to mention when you open the refrigerator the inside is lined with a soft butter yellow and the bottom freezer has a soft baby blue hue. This was not just a refrigerator; this was a statement piece from its era. Could you imagine walking into someone’s home and seeing this?
We did so much research into the fridge and were able to find the original advertisement for it that was in a 1956 National Geographic Magazine.
Now I know what you are thinking... big energy hog, right?! Well interestingly enough when I did research into vintage refrigerators I found that they are actually very energy efficient before defrosters were placed in them (anything pre-1965). Since ours is a 1956 and has no defroster it does not have a constant motor that is defrosting the whole unit all the time. Therefore, it runs on very low energy. To my shock, I found it very fascinating that I never realized appliances that were made around the Depression-Era HAD to be energy efficient because people could not afford the high-energy costs due to the tsunami of after effects the war. Therefore, manufacturers set out to make the most economical energy saving machines for that time. Sounds familiar to today’s standards, right?
Right now, we are keeping it in our Garage as our BBQ & Beer fridge! We have enjoyed having it so much, stocking it with Big Flats and Brats, and look forward to many more years of this stylish beast that lounges in the garage. Maybe I can even get Jared to sandblast the big lug and lacquer it in a turquoise (or saffron yellow..ha) one of these days!!
I had one of these but it was turquoise on the inside as well and the rotating shelves were gold... the freezer was not on the bottom though it was very small inside the top portion of the refrigeration so slightly different model so hard to find the rotating shelves though .... I loved it so much!!
ReplyDeleteI have one of these now but it is black! With the bottom freezer and everything. The light comes on but it doesn't cool off at all. This is the first site I have found that had the fridge that I have!
ReplyDeleteI have all the GE fridge dealer brochures from 1947 to 1963. This GE fridge is from 1955. It was the first GE fridge to have the freezer on the bottom. If it were a 1956 model it would have magnetic door latches and a turquoise interior
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ReplyDeleteI have one of these still operating today!!! Runs great but need to clean up the outside and repaint some touchups! I don't want to ruin the original look but just want it to look brand new!
ReplyDeleteWe have this. It was originally my parents. It just died and I'm heart broken. Hoping to find parts or have someone look at it to see if we can 'save' it. ='-(
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ReplyDeleteBUILT-IN REFRIGERATION
INTEGRATED REFRIGERATION
WINE STORAGE
PROFESSIONAL MODELS