Chapel Hill is a city full of hazards for a house hunter such as myself.
First, there are the trees. Lots and lots of mature trees, which makes it difficult to see the houses.
Secondly, there are bushes. Ligustrums, Photinias, Hollies, Nandina and Wax Myrtles are everywhere. And they’re really big, too!
Third, it’s a college town, full of students who think nothing of stepping off the curb in front of a slow-moving Camry. That was just scary.
And last, the streets are very narrow and labyrinthine, winding to and fro.
And that’s how I missed the Ardara (or so I tell myself). There’s a famous Sears House in Chapel Hill, built in the 1920s and still occupied by its original resident! I’d love to get a high-resolution photo of this house, because I never saw it! 🙁
Perhaps next time I’m in the area, someone will drive me around. That makes house-hunting much easier!
However, I did see that the town has a “Rosemary Street,” and better yet, of the three kit homes I found, two of them are on Rosemary Street!
Now that’s a fine town!
In North Carolina, I've found far more Aladdin kit homes than Sears. Aladdin (like Sears), sold kit homes through a mail-order catalog. Aladdin had a mill in Wilmington, NC so it's not surprising that there are so many Aladdins in this part of the country.
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The Brentwood (shown above) was one of Aladdin's biggest houses. It's a classic "Arts & Crafts" design, and was offered in the 1910s and 1920s.
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Located on Rosemary Street, this Brentwood is in incredibly beautiful shape. The owners obviously love their home. After discovering this house, I did something that I *never* do anymore. I parked the car and walked up the driveway and knocked on their door. I'm highly allergic to people, and yet, this sweet thing was worth it. No one answered, so I'm hoping if they read this blog, they'll leave a comment. I'd love to see the inside some time. This house is in amazingly original condition and has been beautifully maintained. The owners get my award for "Most Beautiful Aladdin Brentwood in the United States."
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A comparison of the Aladdin Brentwood (catalog image and Chapel Hill house).
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Harris Brothers was yet another kit home company, based in Chicago.
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Due to that darn landscaping, I could not get a good photo but if you look closely at the fireplace chimney, windows and porch overhang, you can see that this is a Harris Brothers N-1000. And it has the rounded porch (as shown in the catalog page).
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The Aladdin Inverness had a very interesting roofline!
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And that distinctive roofline makes it easy to identify! Notice the three brick pillars that just kind of sit there, with no purpose in life (other than serving as a plant stand).
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Also located on Rosemary Street (yay!), this little house is a perfect example of the Aladdin Inverness. Even has the three brick pillars out front! This house is near downtown. I wonder if the folks in Chapel Hill know that it's a kit house?
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Comparison of the two houses. Pretty sweet, huh?
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And the one that got away. Somewhere in Chapel Hill is a Sears Ardara. I'd love to get a photo of this house. I can't believe I missed it!
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To learn more about the kit homes in North Carolina, click here.
To read about the large collection of Aladdin kit homes in Roanoke Rapids, click here.
Did you enjoy the blog? Please leave a comment!
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No No No! The Inverness was so ugly I told everyone this was the ugliest house Aladdin Homes ever offered and they didn’t sell many, and then I found one in Lansing, Michigan.
And now another in Chapel Hill! I don’t how many Inverness’s there are but it’s still an ugly house.
@Dale Wolicki
I found one in Charleston, WV.