H74.467.1

Icebox. Description: sixty-three" high. Top, ice compartment with fifteen inch door. Compartment on bottom with thirty-inch door. White enamel ceramic finish with black legs. "Cool-erator" brand emblem on top door, twenty-two inches deep. Outside (visible) hinges-chromed. Seals of gaskets - black rubber. Chrome handles. Ref/Remarks: Ice box was issued by F.H.A. as part of the unit furnishings. Household appliances, such as refrigerators, were low priority items during WW II. People had to wait until "After the duration" to purchase appliances, etc. From the History Information Station: Object: "Coolerator" icebox, circa 1935. With drip pan underneath, for collecting melted ice. The top compartment is for holding ice, and the bottom is for storing food. History: This furnished a federal housing kitchen similar to those at Hunter's Point. It looks like a modern refrigerator, but actually it uses ice to keep cold. Refrigerator factories were converted to war production during World War II, so there weren't enough refrigerators for all the federal housing units. Instead, the government bought up old iceboxes, and let others pay the high prices for the few electric refrigerators they could find. Gifts of the Oakland Redevelopment Agency and The Oakland Museum White Elephant Sale