On September 25, 2014, I gave a talk on the Sears Homes of Richmond, Virginia. This talk (and the images below) were the result of more than 50 hours of work, architectural surveys, consulting with fellow historians and just good old-fashioned research.
The images below (and the research behind them!) are the property of Rosemary Thornton, and can not be used without written permission.
If you’re new to this site, you may be wondering, what is a Sears Home?
Sears Homes were 12,000-piece kit houses, and each kit came with a a 75-page instruction book. Sears promised that “a man of average abilities” could have it assembled in 90 days.
The instruction book offered this somber warning: “Do not take anyone’s advice on how this house should be assembled.” The framing members were marked with a letter and a three-digit-number to facilitate construction.
Today, these marks can help authenticate a house as a kit home.
Searching for these homes is like hunting for hidden treasure. From 1908-1940, about 70,000 Sears Homes were sold, but in the 1940s, during a corporate housecleaning, Sears destroyed all sales records. The only way to find these homes is literally one-by-one.
And I’ve found a whole caboodle of kit homes in Richmond!
If you’ve always wanted to learn more about this fascinating topic, here’s your best chance! I give fewer than five lectures a year now, so this might be the last!
Below are just a few of the many unique (and even rare) kit homes I’ve found in Richmond.
Please share this link with your friends and/or on your Facebook page.
Here’s a link to a very rare kit home I found in Richmond, thanks to Molly!!
To learn more about the talk and obtain tickets, click here.
*
One of the many ways to identify Sears Homes begins with slogging down to the basement (or crawlspace) and looking for marked lumber! This mark, together with a 75-page instruction book, helped homeowners figure out how to put together those 12,000 pieces of house.
*
Sometimes, the markings found on lumber aren't what you might expect! This was found in the basement of an Illinois Sears home, and was a remnant from the original wooden shipping crate. "Bongard, ILLS" was the name of the train depot where the house arrived. I've often found shipping crate lumber repurposed ror shelving or coal bins.
*
The blueprints were specifically designed for the neophyte, and included great detail, such as how far apart to space nails! The typical 1920s Sears House came with 750 pounds of nails!
*
One of my favorite finds in Richmond is the Sears Strathmore (1936 catalog).
*
Oh my, what's not to love! Beautiful house with a Buckingham slate roof and original windows. Be still my heart!
*
This was Sears Modern Home #190, offered in the early 1910 (1912 catalog).
*
Perfect in every way!
*
The Sears Avalon is one of my favorite houses, and Richmond has several. I would love to know the back story on this. The Avalon wasn't that big a hit for Sears, and yet I've found five in Richmond. I've seen ten of these in the United States, and five of those ten are in Richmond.
*
And it's just a spot-on match to the catalog picture. Notice the small window in the front gable? And the three vents on the side gable? Picture is copyright 2014 Melissa Burgess and may not be used or reproduded without written permission. So there.
*
Another Avalon in Richmond, also in beautiful shape. This one has the original railings. All of these Avalons have that distinctive arched pattern and faux belt course on the brick chimney.
*
My favorite Avalon. Oh, what a beauty!
*
Close-up of that arched inset and belt on the Avalon in Richmond.
*
In addition to Sears, there were other companies selling kit homes on a national basis, and Gordon Van Tine was one of the larger ones. Total sales were probably a bit more than 50,000, compared to Sears total sales of 70,000. The Sussex was one of the Gordon Van Tine models that I found in Richmond.
*
Picture perfect, this Gordon Van Tine "Sussex" still retains many of its original features.
*
This classic "Craftsman Style" bungalow was a popular model for Gordon Van Tine.
*
And here's a fine-looking example of Model #507. The photo was taken from a side that does not replicate the angle in the catalog , but it's clearly a GVT #507. Photo is copyright 2012 Taber Andrew Bain and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
*
One of my favorite finds in Richmond was the Gordon Van Tine #124.
*
Next time I'm in town, I need to bring my chain saw so I can get a better photo. Nonetheless, I'm confident it's the real deal, as I found the original testimonial in a 1913 GVT catalog.
*
Aladdin was another major contender in the kit home business. In fact, they were larger than Sears. Aladdin had a mill in WIlmington, NC which explains why - typically - in Virginia, I've found more Aladdin homes than Sears Homes. Shown above is The Ardmore from the 1922 Aladdin catalog.
*
I've never seen an Ardmore. I suspect it's a fairly rare kit home. Is this house in Richmond an Aladdin Ardmore? The distinctive bracketing on that front porch roof sure suggests it might be, together with that unusual arched porch on the side. It's bigger than the Ardmore, but we know that 30-50% of kit homes were customized when built. So is it an Aladdin or not? Only her builder knows for sure.
*
In addition to Sears, Gordon Van Tine and Aladdin, there was another national kit home company: Harris Brothers. They were based in Chicago , but I've found a few Harris Brothers' homes in Virginia. When HB started business, they were known as The Chicago House-Wrecking Company. One hundred years ago, "wrecking" was another word for the careful disassembly of a house. "Wrecked houses" were typically moved and rebuilt at a new site.
*
Here's a fine example of HB-1017N. And it's for sale! The side windows flanking the front door are distinctive, as are the tops of those porch columns. The stucco is in good shape, too.
*
Here's another example of a Harris Brothers' house (Model 1513).
*
Oh yeah, baby. That's what I'm talking about! Another perfect match!
*
Another Harris Brothers' #1513, from a different side. That's two of these sweet things in Richmond.
*
The Sears Osborn is another beautiful bungalow (1928).
*
And here's another beautiful example of The Osborn in Richmond. Wow.
*
There are also pattern book houses in Richmond. Pattern book homes were different from kit homes, because these houses didn't come with building materials. You'd browse the pages of the catalog, select a home and then you'd receive full blueprints and a list of all building materials necessary to build the house. The image above came from the Harris, McHenry and Baker Company catalog, but these plan book houses were offered by many regional lumber companies.
*
Love the stucco pattern! I've never seen this pattern before, but I suspect there's a name for it.
*
Shown above is but a smattering of the kit homes we’ve discovered in Richmond. To learn more, come to the talk on Thursday night (the 25th), and meet Rose!
It’ll be a fun evening, and informative, too!
To learn more about the talk and obtain tickets, click here.
Thanks to Rachel for sharing her images from the 1913 Gordon Van Tine catalog.
Thanks to Melissa for the wonderful picture of the Sears Avalon!
* * *
Yes! That’s an Aladdin Ardmore!
It was not very popular and Aladdin dropped it from the catalogs after a few years.
It was one of the few Aladdin homes never built in Bay City.
Thank you for providing the homes and descriptions from Richmond.
I pass through a neighborhood in DC full of sears homes and am now delighted to see that it also has some Gordon Van Tine homes and Pattern homes. Providing a few examples using Google maps street view.
Gordon van tine #628:
2001 Evarts ST NE, WDC 20018 https://www.google.com/maps/place/2001+Evarts+St+NE,+Washington,+DC+20018/@38.9245115,-76.9758078,3a,75y,169.09h,90t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sV8-hYBbWGeDiBfn-m1JRqA!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x89b7c7861d938f89:0x4c62e3e401d77eed!8m2!3d38.9243036!4d-76.9757486
Regent:
2636 Monroe ST, NE WDC 20018
My guess is that 1507 Evarts St NE WDC 20018 is also a catalog home; however, it is difficult to confirm it is Van Tine 628 with all of the “updates”
Right around the corner from these three houses are three Alhambras and many more that I just need to sit down and identify.
Thank you for your research
Frederick