Please welcome Steve Lancaster. He is the founder of a great Facebook group, Manufactured Housing and Mobile Homes. I’ve never met a more knowledgeable person when it comes to modern and classic mobile home models. I asked Steve to write about his favorite model of all time, the Fleetwood Festival which is also known as the Fleetwood Broadmore in some parts of the country. His knowledge and passion for mobile homes are unparalleled.
From the early 1970’s to the early 1980’s Fleetwood made a single wide that I have always admired. It was called the Fleetwood Festival though in some markets the company used the name Fleetwood Broadmore.
It was a very attractive home with a floor plan that made excellent use of space, both in the twelve wide and the later fourteen wide models.
The decor of the home generally included wood beams on the ceiling with matching wood plank cabinet doors in the kitchen and laundry.
The kitchen had a large overhead lighting system as well as unique cross plank ceiling.
Leaving the master bedroom and walking toward the front door, you entered the small back hallway which had the back door and the laundry area. The laundry room cabinets matched the kitchen cabinets. To the right was the HVAC unit. Beside that was a pantry closet.
Going from the laundry room into the kitchen there was a long row of cabinets and an area along the front side of the home that housed the stove, sink, and the fridge. Across from that was a built in bookcase and a cabinet for storage.
In the living room, many models had a bar with a top surround above it.
Here’s an original living room in a Festival (no updates):
The master bedroom had two windows, one on the front side of the home and the other on the back side. This was rare at the time.
Entry to the master bath was through a large open door with a plexiglass and wood surround.
The opposite wall of a master bedroom, typical of many classic mobile home models:
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Unique for the time, the Fleetwood Festival offered a garden tub as well as a single person shower in the master bath. The master bath must have really been a showpiece at the time. It impresses me still today.
It had the garden tub at the left rear (front side) of the home. The commode was beside it, though there were various layouts throughout the years and factories.
Also featured in the master bath was a faux marble sink, a single vanity, and a linen closet or additional master closet, right beside the shower stall.
The front bathroom had an entry from the short hallway as well as the front bedroom. The exterior of the front door repeated the entry to the master bath with plexiglass windows beside the entry door.
Changes were slow and evolutionary and as time went on the Fleetwood Festival, or Broadmore as some know it, lost much of its original charm. But, if they came out with this home (at the very least the same floor plan) I would buy one asap.
A huge thank you to Steve Lancaster for sharing his knowledge with us!
Thank you for reading Mobile Home Living!
Do you have any favorite classic mobile home models? Tell us in the comments below.
Image Sources: Craigslist, PeeDee Realty, Zillow
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