"Newfangled" Kit Houses
Between 1906 and 1940, there were many bungalows built in the U.S. that you could order from a catalog....Sears, Aladdin, Harris Built Homes of Chicago, Montgomery Ward, Ready Built House Company and Robinson's. There was also Lewis and Sterling in Michigan, and the Gordon-Van Tine company of Davenport, Iowa. Plans and numbered parts came by mail.
It seems that the kit house is still available and may be as close as your neighborhood home center.
While researching hot water heaters a few weeks ago, I came across this:
All houses here are sold by a home improvement center in Chicago.
I can't help but notice that our house is similar to three other houses on our block. Four or five other houses are similar in design but are smaller with no second floor dormers. (Though we haven't seen any others in the neighborhood like ours.)
The built-in book shelves that are supposed to go on either side of the fireplace (and which we found in the basement) have a number scrawled on the side of one of them. It's cryptic and something I didn't pay much attention to at first. So many of the things in here are strange and scrawled upon.
Was our house a kit house? Or were the parts created at a nearby lumberyard and sent to the neighborhood for assembly by the builder?
Because the first owner, Niels, was a builder, we assumed that he built the house and possibly had a hand in building the others. Perhaps he just assembled them or didn't have a hand in building them at all.
However, there are some unmistakably strange details that only a builder would care about. For example, using quality door trim in the attic space...very few bungalows have this because it was thought that no guests would ever see that space and it was an added expense to use that trim.
It's a mystery for now.
(7)
Looking for More?
| Search for more on 'kit houses' on this site. |
| Search for 'kit houses' on on other houseblogs like this one. |
| Search for 'kit houses' on Google. |
| Search for 'kit houses' on Amazon.com. |
Cabinet Refacing:
Face Your Kitchen | Your Guide to Kitchen Cabinet Refacing |
Comments
Your house appears to be brick. I've seen many Sears kit houses over the years & it seems to me they were all of frame construction. I would think that the same builder built most of the houses in your immediate area though thay are not all the same in appearance. POPS"30"
Posted by: POPS | February 25, 2004 11:49 AM
A while back I was watching a program on Sears homes and then did a search to see if I could find my home or my temporary home.
I've not found any numbers in the rafters or attic to make me think either were actually a Sears home, but I thought I'd see if they had one with the same floor plan. The site I found admited they were missing a ton of the models that were carried so I didn't find anything. Have you found any sites that list all the models with pictures and floor plans?
Posted by: Jenny Lee | February 25, 2004 12:05 PM
Hi--
The best sources for Sears Kit homes that I could find I linked to within this entry. But keep searching on Google under Sears Kit Homes--I'm sure there are some historical societies or libraries that have collections of information. (You might check with your local librarian to see if he/she has resources to check with other libraries.)
And, Pops! Hi! Our house is actually a Stucco-Frame construction home (pretty unusual for a bungalow in Chicago...many Chicago-style bungalows on our street are made of brick.) So, it is a mystery. We know it isn't a Sears and it probably isn't an Aladdin. If it is a Kit Home at all, it might be one of the local kit home manufacturers, such as Harris, Sterling or Lewis. But I can't find any information on them on the internet.
I'll need to plan a trip to the Chicago Library later on in the Spring.
Posted by: jmo | February 25, 2004 2:34 PM
Our brick bungelow is in Des Plaines, suburb of Chicago. We've often wondered if there would be any source for the original floor plans. Are you thinking the Chicago Library is a good source for these old plans? Lauren
Posted by: Anonymous | February 26, 2004 6:59 AM
Lauren--
I'm actually keen on researching the Harris, Sterling or Lewis companies at the Library. I am unsure if they would have Chicago-style bungalow plans or not.
It might be worthwhile contacting the Chicago Historic Bungalow Society to see if they know where such plans can be found. The University of Illinois at Chicago also has very good archives. Best of luck!
Posted by: jmo | February 26, 2004 8:26 AM
My parents own a Sears home, but theirs was special ordered. This could apparently only be done in the Chicago or Detroit areas, where the special order offices were. My point is that if you don't come across your floorplan in your search, you may have a special order home. In this case, you would still have clues to help you figure out if it was a catalog home. Things like the window hardware and stamped "codes" on the lumber. I'm not an expert by any means, but I thought I'd share what I learned from my parents research.
Posted by: Beth Ann | February 26, 2004 12:17 PM
Have you read "The Houses that Sears Built"? There is a chapter that explains how to tell if your home is a Sears home. You can find the book on Amazon.com if not in your local library. It's pretty interesting!
Posted by: Sandra | February 26, 2004 3:21 PM