Yikes.
You know that had to hurt.
Talk about a splitting headache. This poor Sears kit house (The Woodland) is on East 233 and Wickham in the Bronx (New York). It must have been in pretty dismal condition prior to whatever *really* bad thing recently happened to it. This catastrophic damage appeared soon after a bad wind storm came through the area. It might have been a tree that befell this fine old house. (Photo is copyright 2012 Nicole Zernone and can not be reproduced or used without written permission.)
Whatever it was, it surely put a hurtin' on this Sears Woodland. (Photo is copyright 2012 Nicole Zernone and can not be reproduced or used without written permission.)
Go to the light, little house. Go to the light. (Photo is copyright 2012 Nicole Zernone and can not be reproduced or used without written permission.)
Sears Woodland as seen in the 1921 Sears Modern Homes catalog.
And a reasonably happy and healthy Sears Woodland in Clifton Forge, Virginia.
Not sure why, but Clifton Forge has an amazing collection of Sears Homes. Click here to see more.
Another happy Sears Woodland in Bluefield, WV.
And one in Bloomington, IL.
And in the tiny town of Siegel, IL. This has a bay window, but that was an option.
One of the distinctive features of the Sears Woodland (and 24 other popular Sears models) is this unique column detail. Another eye-catching feature of the Woodland are the two windows flanking the front door.
This is an old photo from 2002. This is a really "insensitive" siding job. Why oh why do people put siding over COLUMNS? If you are physically unable to turn off "Dancing with the Stars" long enough to paint your porch columns, perhaps you should reconsider this whole "homeownership" thing. I love this old photo because of the sign in the front yard. It says, "Gazebo Award: Home of the Month." I think that "gazebo" must be Latin for "creative overuse of poly-vinyl chloride in residential applications." I could be wrong about that, though .
Was this really necessary?
Another Woodland that's feeling some pain, however it's being remodeled. This one is in Tulsa. (Photo is copyright 2010 Rachel Shoemaker and can not be reproduced or used without written permission.)
The Sears Woodland was a very popular house. It was offered in the late 1910s, and endured into the 1930s. It's shown here in the 1933 Sears Modern Homes catalog.
*
To read about the Sears Magnolia (Sears fanciest house!) that’s in Syracuse, NY, click here.
To learn more about Sears Homes, click here.
To turn on to another obsession that’s even more addicting than Sears Homes, click here.
* * *
The Sears Woodland is a very special house to me. It was my first discovery here in Tulsa. I’ll never forget that afternoon in October 2008. I was excited beyond words! I knew what I had because I had read Rosemary’s books.
Those distinctive columns caught my eye immediately. It is a house that you never forget when you see it. The way the porch roof wraps the sides of the house, that top dormer, the front door flanked by two windows, and the chunky columns…..YES I found a Woodland!! 🙂
And it was such a good match to the image in my reference books. My poor Woodland (Tulsa, OK) was in horrible condition and it looked like the packrat king lived there, just like something out of the TV show *Hoarders*.
I knew I had to SAVE this house. In the meantime the Woodland gave me the encouragement I needed to continue searching for Sears homes in my home town. In Tulsa, it was claimed that there were only two kit homes left. Who knew that I would become THIS absorbed in finding them?? LOL.
I pestered the heck out of poor Rosemary for several months to come! But I was just so fascinated, I couldn’t stop wanting to learn more!
Ahhh that poor house in the Bronx. It is sad to see it go. It is not far from where I live as I am in the lower part of Westchester County. The Bronx is just a hop, skip and a jump away.
Please, please, please tell me that the home pictured in the Bronx is going to be saved! These homes are treasures and it makes we want to cry when I see them sided over and re-modeled poorly or worse–torn down. Your comment about the siding over columns was right on and made me laugh. WHAT were they thinking with leaving those bracket pieces sticking out of the siding???
Jan, I think that poor little house may be beyond economical repair. It is a real shame, too. I’d love to know what happened to it.
Google search Sanibel Historic Museum and Village Sanibel Island Florida. They have a fully restored Sears House, and another Sears House undergoing restoration
I grew up in Northfield, MN, where stands my family home the Woodland. Ironically, its address is 1008 E Woodley St. It looks the same except for the aluminum siding and vinyl window replacement.
It was built by Henry Mueller in 1922, bought by my parents John and Dolly Westerlund in 1946, then by my husband and I Daniel and Brenda Goodman in 1983.
We sold it in 1994, and it has had two more owners who have beautifully maintained it. I live in CA now, and it is always heartwarming to “go home again” and find it still standing majest-ally and proudly as it ever has been.
There is a Sears Woodland in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York a #16 School St. It is good condition. The columns are still there and in good shape. There is a “garden” window on the south side of the house. If possible, I can send a picture.