How fitting that Sears would name one of their finest Dutch Colonials “The Amsterdam.”
After all, Amsterdam is the capital of The Netherlands!
In Dutch, the word Amsterdam translates into “Groot-Mokum” – hence, the title of this blog.
I did a blog on The Dandy Amsterdam more than two years ago, but since then, I’ve come across another Amsterdam in Scranton, Pennsylvania.
I’m guessing that – due to cost and size – the Groot-Mokum was a pretty rare model for Sears. I’ve only seen one “in the flesh” and that was the model in Scranton. For reasons I’ve long since forgotten, I did not photograph the house in Scranton when I was there about 10 years ago, and just recently re-discovered these photos, sent by a Sears House Aficionado.
Unfortunately, the SHA did not include their name on the photos, so I don’t know who found this Amsterdam and/or who shot the photos. If it was you, please leave a comment below! 😀
BTW, if you have an Amsterdam in your neighborhood, take a photo and send it to me!
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At $3,578, the Groot-Mokum was a pricey affair (1928).
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The Groot Modum was a spacious house. Even had a Music Room!
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Love the four bedrooms, but not sure about the bathroom on the home's front.
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The Amsterdam (1928)
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Whomever took this photo did a stellar job of replicating the angle in the catalog page.
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The inscription on the back of the card is also very interesting! But who wrote it?
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Side-by-side they're a nice match (minus the gabled porch add on).
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This Groot-Mokum is also in Pennsylvania, specifically Pittsburgh. (Photo is copyright 2011 Melody Snyder and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.)
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To learn more about how to identify kit homes, click here.
If you know who photographed the Scranton house, please leave a comment below!
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The person who most likely took the photo of the home in Scranton PA was Bill____ (last name?). He was with us when you were in Scranton for a presentation at the Lackawanna Historical Society about 12 yrs ago. Also the Carlin home that you toured for a local television show, showing how to tell if it is a Sears Home, will be going up for sale in the next few months.
The person who took the picture of the home in Scranton was most likely Bill___ (last name?), he was with us when you presented a the Lackawanna Historical Society’s Dinner about 12 years ago. Also the Carlin house that you walked through will be listed for sale in a few weeks.
The photo of home located in Scranton PA was taken by Bill ___(can’t recall last name).
He was the individual who showed the Sears Homes in the city of Scranton and surrounding areas when you were here in 2005.
There is an uncanny resemblance to a home in Pitman that I fell in love with right down to the color scheme.
https://www.zillow.com/homedetails/150-Grandview-Ave-Pitman-NJ-08071/38801760_zpid/
Looking at the hand-written note, I’d say it was the male owner of the property who was a mite proud of his Groot-Mokum.
If someone had stopped by my house like that, I would have certainly made note of it.
Makes me wonder if such was a past-time — home owners talking about their particular models. Or stopping by someone’s house and doing what was chronicled on the aforementioned card.
Was having a Sears home a way of “keeping up with the Joneses” or a status symbol of some kind?
I typed in “1622 Wyoming” (as noted on the card) on Google Earth, and it found the house mentioned above, which now has black awnings.
Happy Easter, dear Rosie! Thank you for all you do!