A Phoenix Rises in Norwood Park

6921 W. Hobart, Chicago.

This Sears Phoenix differs in many respects from the catalog illustration. 

The home in Norwood Park has a brick veneer which was added a decade after the house was constructed. The Phoenix as delivered had a facade of Stonekote, which was a ready-to-use cement plaster very commonly used from 1910-1920. Sears had a deal with the Garden City Sand Company of Chicago to provide the Stonekote to its customers.

Additionally, the porch was enclosed and the front door was relocated to the side. There is an addition on the rear.  These additions were made in the 1920's when the brick was added.

The roof pitch and width is off from the catalog illustration as well.

Sears did not sell the Phoenix with lumber pre-cut at the factory. Sears sold the lumber "not cut or fitted". They often did this for the more elaborate homes in an effort to keep the prices down . 

The Sears Phoenix was offered for sale between 1909 and 1918. This particular Phoenix was listed as a testimonial in the 1916 Modern Homes catalog, and the date of construction was 1914. In those years the Phoenix was called Modern Home No. 160, or even catchier, the C160.

The building permit was issued to G.N. Belford, a contractor from Park Ridge. I am not sure who the original owners were. In 1920, John F. O'Brien lived there with his wife Adah and their seven children. John was a police sergeant and  Adah taught school. By 1935 they had moved out of the house on Hobart and were living in separate residences.

In April 1938, Dr. Edward V. Boarini and his wife Edelle moved in, along with their six children. They lived in the Phoenix until 1956.

White & Christie were the architects of the Phoenix. They designed many notable houses in Oak Park and Chicago.

More on the Phoenix
There is a Google Site with some awesome interior photos of a Sears Phoenix.

UPDATE!
I heard from Dr. Boarini's daughter, Mary Idstein, who grew up in the house. She did not know it was a Sears house until a few years ago. Mary writes:

"When we moved in there was not a fireplace but my Father had one built in 1941. It was between the windows on the East side of the house just opposite the stairway in the hall.  I have vivid memories of the fireplace going in because my Mother was so particular about the tiles with flowers she picked out to frame the fireplace with the white mantle and a black marble hearth.   We moved to the house on Hobart from a five-room flat so we were thrilled with the size of the bathroom which had a large square green bathtub with a seat on each side. It was different but also a pain to clean.  

"I loved that house and my husband and I bought it from my parents in 1956.  We sold it in 1962 when we moved to McHenry."

Edelle Boarini in the back of the house, about 1941. Photo courtesy of Mary Idstein.

The house about 1962. Photo courtesy of Mary Idstein.

The real estate listing sheet from 1962. They underestimated the year of construction! Photo courtesy of Mary Idstein.

The Next-Door Neighbors in Glenview

There are two Sears homes next to one another on MacLean Court in Glenview. 

Neighbor to the West--the Sears Crescent

Sears Crescent at 1740 MacLean Court, Glenview. Makes you miss winter, doesn't it?

Sears Crescent, from the 1926 Modern Homes catalog.

The Crescent came in two floor plans. The smaller version had a door on the side of the house, like the one on MacLean Court.

I believe the original owners of the Crescent were Ernest H. Wallace and his wife Anna. In 1924, the Wallaces lived in the Forest Glen neighborhood in Chicago. They were living in Glenview in the fall of 1925, so I think it's logical to infer that the house was constructed in 1925. 

According to a 2011 article in the Pioneer Press, the then-homeowner was attempting to authenticate the house, and said he found markings inside that affirm the house is from Sears. There is no doubt that this is a Crescent, in my unprofessional opinion.


Neighbor to the East--the Sears Conway

Sears Conway at 1736 MacLean Court, Glenview. Photo from Realtor site.

Scan courtesy of Antique-Home.com.

The front porch has been enclosed, and there is an addition in the rear. But there is enough original detail around the porch and the concrete block piers to identify the house as a Sears Conway. 

Photo from Realtor site.

The front door is an original Sears door. Photo from Realtor site.

Photo from Realtor site.

Photo from Realtor site.

Photo from Realtor site.

The rear addition accommodates a family room. Photo from Realtor site.

Photo from Realtor site.

There is an addition for the master bedroom and bath.

Photo from Realtor site.

Photo from Realtor site.

The Glenview Historic Preservation Commission refers to this Conway as the "George and Charlotte Searles House", and that it was built in 1927.

George worked for the railroad. George died in 1962 and the house went to his daughter, Leona Skelly. Skelly and her husband lived in the house until at least 1967. 

The Sears Mitchell Owned by Laura Ingalls Wilder

A famous house is the "Sears Mitchell" that Laura Ingalls Wilder lived in from 1928-1936.

Laura Ingalls Wilder's "Rock House" in Mansfield, Missouri. Photo courtesy of the Missouri Division of Tourism.

                   

Technically it is not a Sears kit home; however, it was inspired by the Sears Mitchell.

Rose Wilder Lane, Laura's daughter, built the ersatz Mitchell for Laura and her husband Almanzo in 1928. Rose had become a successful writer and wanted to give a new house to her parents as a Christmas gift. Rose loved the house from the Sears Modern Homes catalog but had her Mitchell built using local materials, not pre-cut materials delivered from Sears. Rose wanted stones on the exterior and not wood shingles. The Mitchell was customized on the interior as well and it cost over $11,000 to build.

The house was built on the 180-acre Wilder property outside Mansfield, Missouri. Rose moved into her parents' old farmhouse and Laura and Almanzo moved into what the family called the "Rock House".

Laura, Almanzo, and Nero in front of the Rock House. Photo courtesy of wendymcclure.net.

In the Rock House, Laura hand wrote the first four books in the Little House series: Little House in the Big Woods, Little House on the Prairie, On the Banks of Plum Creek, and By the Shores of Silver Lake.

In 1936, Rose moved to Connecticut and the Wilders moved back into the old farmhouse. They told Rose they were homesick. The Wilders sold the Rock House and the adjoining 40 acres to a neighbor. They lived in the farmhouse until their deaths (Laura died in 1957 at the age of 93).

Today, the Laura Ingalls Wilder Home Association owns the Rock House. The house was restored in the 1990's. The house has four bedrooms, two bathrooms, a living room and a dining room. The floors are pecan wood. The Rock House is open for tours, but no interior photos are allowed.

Sears Oakdale

312 S. Emerson, Mount Prospect.

Sears Oakdale.

The Sears Oakdale on Emerson is a close match to the catalog illustration--despite the reversed floor plan.  The original railings and surrounding detailing is intact. The original timber purlins are under the gables. The three decorative vents are gone.

If you're curious, here's the side showing the fireplace chimney and dining room bay.

The house was built in 1923 by Dudley and Louise Budlong. They had their first child, Dudley Jr., in 1922 and needed a new home as they started their family.

According to the Daily Herald, Dudley purchased two lots on Emerson in June 1923.

In July, the lumber from Sears arrived.

The house was completed in the early fall of 1923.

Dudley W. Budlong was a village trustee and served as a volunteer firefighter for over 25 years. He worked for H.H. Chester &  Co., an onion grower. Dudley, Louise, and their four children lived in the two-bedroom house. After the children were grown, Dudley and Louise sold the house and moved to California around 1948-1949.