It’s been 17 years since I wrote my first article on Sears kit homes, and I’ve learned a lot in those years. Yet even now, there are still lots of surprises. That’s the nature of history, and probably the #1 reason I love history so much – it’s always shifting and changing – and there’s always something new to learn.
When Bob Gentzel posted pictures of his “Sears Winston” in our Facebook group, I was skeptical. I took a moment to study the house, but then I scrolled on to the next shiny bauble on Facebook, hoping that someone else might gently explain to him that it wasn’t really a Sears House. I was running out of nice things to say to people who were similarly confused.
A couple days after he posted his photos, I was looking up something in a plan book house and I stumbled across a Standard Homes Plan called, “The Winston.” Better yet, it was a spot-on match to Bob’s house in Pennsylvania. I went back to Bob’s photos on Facebook and posted the images I’d found from Standard Homes and explained to him that it was a plan-book house and people often confused plan-book houses with kit homes.
Bob was grateful to see his house in a plan-book catalog, but he remained insistent that it was a Sears House.
I asked how he knew it was a Sears House. His reply piqued my interest: “The name ‘Sears & Roebuck’ appears on the home’s original blueprints.” Frankly, I was still a little doubtful. I asked for photos, and Bob supplied them.
That’s when I became a believer. Bob Gentzel’s custom Sears House in New Cumberland, Pennsylvania is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s a real doozy. And it’s a real Sears House!
Thanks so much to Bob Gentzel for sharing this fascinating story and providing me with the photos below.
To read about another custom Sears House, click here.
Learn more about plan-book houses here.
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"It's a Sears House," is a refrain that's quite popular, but sometimes wrong, and often I have to be the one to tell them, "Sorry, Charlie. It's not even close." But in this case, I was wrong - this really IS a Sears House, built with plans from Standard Home Plans. Photo is copyright 2015 Bob Gentzel and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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When I found this image in the Standard Homes Planbook (1920s), my first thought was, "Poor guy. He's got a plan-book house from Standard Homes and someone told him it's a kit home." Well, Bob's house is two amazing homes in one! It's a plan-book house - with blueprints and building materials from Sears & Roebuck, Chicago, Illinois.
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There's no arguing with this little tidbit, on the corner of the blueprints for Bob's house. Photo is copyright 2015 Bob Gentzel and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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The describe the house as "Special Winston." Photo is copyright 2015 Bob Gentzel and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
And it's special in other ways, too. The Winston (as shown in the SHP floor plan) is 26 feet wide. Bob's "Special Winston" is 34 feet wide, adding a lot of extra square footage to the house.
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Upstairs, there's a darling little alcove in that front gable.
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Bob's "Special Winston" has Sears "La Tosca" hardware (1930 catalog image).
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"La Tosca" was very popular in Sears Homes (1928 Sears Modern Homes catalog).
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Glued to the back side of the blue prints, Bob found this unique tape. Photo is copyright 2015 Bob Gentzel and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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And Bob has all manner of original documentation for the house, such as this wonderful letter. My favorite line is, "If you have any irregularity of any kind, write to us and we shall take prompt action." In other words, if you find anything missing or in error, we'll make it right. Photo is copyright 2015 Bob Gentzel and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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This list delineates the special changes made to the Special Winston. And there were quite a few. Photo is copyright 2015 Bob Gentzel and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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And it's even signed! Photo is copyright 2015 Bob Gentzel and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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And there's this. All these documents were passed along to Mr. and Mrs. Gentzel when they purchased the house in 1985. The Gentzels purchased the house from the daughter and son-in-law of the original owners. God bless the home's prior owners for hanging on to all this documentation and ephemera! Photo is copyright 2015 Bob Gentzel and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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It's a mighty fancy "kit house"! You don't often find exposed beams in a 1930 house. Photo is copyright 2015 Bob Gentzel and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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The fireplace mantel is fairly unusual, too. I wonder if that's rock that's been locally quarried. I'm in awe that the house retains its original varnished woodwork. It's stunning. Photo is copyright 2015 Bob Gentzel and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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The entry foyer made me swoon. Every piece and part of that staircase is breathtakingly beautiful unpainted wood. I'd be interested to know what that little door is for. Photo is copyright 2015 Bob Gentzel and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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And who doesn't love a breakfast nook? Unfortunately, these darling little nooks are often removed by an aggressive remodeler. Nice to see the original nook in this old house! Photo is copyright 2015 Bob Gentzel and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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Here's a view of the nook upstairs, in that front gable. Photo is copyright 2015 Bob Gentzel and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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The house is a spacious beauty from top to bottom. Here's a view of the master bedroom, looking in to what is now a master bathroom. Photo is copyright 2015 Bob Gentzel and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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Another view of the master bedroom, looking toward the hallway. Photo is copyright 2015 Bob Gentzel and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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Returning to the first floor, there's this little mystery. That's a door leading into the closet, and that's a small inward-swinging casement window inside the closet, but is that a SINK in the corner of the closet? Sure looks like it to me. But why a sink in the corner of a coat closet? Is it a graphic for a hat shelf? If so, it's a mighty odd one.
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Bob very graciously supplied a picture of the house from that angle, just to assuage my curiosity. He also explained that his house had been modified, so that little closet wasn't present in his Special Winston. Photo is copyright 2015 Bob Gentzel and may not be used or reproduced without written permission.
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I found Bob's house in this reproduction of a 1920s Standard Home Plans catalog. I bought it a few years ago on Amazon. And I love that design on the front cover.
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Ruh Roe. Just look what's next door to Bob's "Special Winston."
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To read about another custom Sears House, click here.
Learn more about plan-book houses here.
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How awesome ! Such a beautiful home and fully vetted! The documentation alone is a hallmark of itself. Thanks for letting us share it all. All I can say is Wow!
Rosemary, thank you for helping me sort out the roles Standard Home and Sears played in designing and construction of our beloved home.
We now realize, thanks to you, that our “Standard” home is anything but!
Thanks, too, for your blog entry regarding our home.
A few comments/clarifications:
— What’s marked as “Alcove” on the published Standard Homes plan you found (and thanks again for that discovery!) is marked on our blueprint as “sewing/nursery.” It’s reached through the master bedroom via French doors. It was just dead space. We converted it into a master bath.
— The room at the rear of the second floor, marked “Sewing” on the Standard Homes published plan, is marked “Child’s bedroom” on our blueprint. (The blog entry misidentifies it as being at the front of the house.) It was built with a built-in single bed, which, as you can see in the photo, is still there. And it is still a child’s bedroom. One of our granddaughters claims it as “my room” when they visit.
— The fireplace is unique, custom design, replacing a standard Colonial fireplace. We have an architectural drawing for it, too, and that drawing is very close to the finished fireplace. I don’t have any record of where the stone came from.
— As you said, our house does not have the closet, shown in the published plan, at the rear of the entry foyer. Instead, the foyer extends further back, providing access to the kitchen through the open door you can see on the left in the picture. The closed door beside it, nearer to the camera, and the little door you asked about, provide access to a closet under the stairs (kids love the little door).
Thanks again for all your work on this!
– Bob
That’s a beautiful home.
What an awesome blog post! It was fun to participate and experience that little adventure in the Sears group. Don’t we have a lot of fun in there?
I truly appreciate blogs like this because I know this took HOURS to assemble.
You ROCK Rosemary! 🙂
Rosemary,
I saw the blueprint showing the closet sink and can only think what a great way to wash hands before meals or brush teeth before heading off to school or work.
With the only bathroom upstairs, what a step saver that little sink would be. The beamed ceiling is great and it could have been added after house was built.
From my own experience of taking one builder’s plans to another builder, having Sears supply the materials makes sense.
The neighbors house turned out so nice, so maybe Sears was the logical choice.
Rick
I am new to this site. I’d like to purchase a bill of materials and floor plans for The Avoca No. 109 and The Hathaway.
Do you know if it’s possible to find these any more?
Hi!
Love all the documentation!
We recently purchased a home and it too is a Winston! Haven’t found any documented evidence of it being a kit but it has some of the same modifications from the list Bob shared (like using pine flooring on the top floor). Let me know if you want to see photos.