Sears Crescent

6906 N. Oleander, Chicago.

Sears Crescent, from the 1922 Modern Homes catalog.

This authenticated Crescent was built in 1921. If the tile roof is original, it was a very expensive option. It appears to have an original front door too. The porte cochere is a tasteful addition to the house.

The architect of the Crescent was George C. Nimmons, who also designed the Sears Alhambra.

It's 1925 and You're Building a House... What are Your Options?

Let's say it's 1925 and you want to build a new house for your family. What are your options?

Hire a professional architect to do a design
This was the most expensive option.  Like today, architect fees could run 2-10% of the entire project. Not only would architects create custom plans and specifications, they would often supervise the construction. Many middle-class families needed a lower-cost option so they would have a local carpenter or builder draft the plans, rather than use a licensed architect's services.

Buy a standard design from a plan book
If you didn't want to pay a few hundred bucks for an architect (a lot of money in those days), you could buy an architect's design from a plan book. A plan book contained hundreds of houses. You picked one out, paid the company $20 or so, and received a complete set of blueprints, a list of needed materials, and legal forms and contracts to be used with the builder. 

The Chopin from the 1927 Home Builders Catalog. The blueprints were $20.

The plan book companies could modify a standard plan for a nominal fee. Customers who purchased a standard plan often hired a builder because few non-tradesmen were able to translate the blueprints.

Many builders handed out copies of the plan books to prospective customers and had the books branded with their names. Local lumber companies often distributed branded plan books as well, and they told the customer it would be simple for them to fulfill the lumber order.

Buy a kit house from Sears, Aladdin, or one of the other companies
If you purchased a house from the Sears Modern Homes catalog (or one of Sears's competitors), you received a set of architect's blueprints included in the order and most of the material needed to build the house, including lumber pre-cut to desired lengths.

Many of the Sears models were designed by nationally renowned architects, that most American families would never have the money to hire. 

Sears asked, "Why spend money on an architect?" in the 1928 Modern Homes catalog.

It's apparent why the lumber companies and professional architects were threatened by the kit home industry. In the 1910's, kit houses were referred to as "freak-built houses" in an attempt to scare consumers. 

A 1913 ad from the Chicago Millwork Supply Company, a vendor threatened by the kit home manufacturers that offered millwork and lumber for less.

Sears could customize the floor plan, or reverse the plan for no charge with most models. Gordon-Van Tine and some of the other kit home manufacturers charged a nominal fee to do so.

You could hire a builder to put together your kit house or do it yourself. Sears provided an instruction book and detailed blueprints, specifically designed for the first-time home builder.

"You Are Most Welcome at the Little 'White House'"

1618 North Rand Road, Arlington Heights.

The Sears Old Town. Scan is from Houses by Mail.

Here's a super-rare Sears house thousands of people drive by every day. It's located on Rand Road, in the middle of a commercial area. Somehow this Sears Old Town managed to survive and it is currently housing Jordan & Associates, an accounting firm.

The Sears Old Town is very similar in style to the Sears Homestead. There is a Sears Homestead in Mount Prospect, and seeing that house in person helped me identify the Old Town. 

The Sears Old Town was offered one year only--1933. That year, Sears sold less than 500 houses in the U.S., which would make the Old Town one of the rarest models.  

We know that the house was built in 1933 or perhaps 1934. I don't have information on the original owners since houses on Rand Road were not numbered until after 1940.

In August 1969, Rasmussen's Gifts took over the house. The "gift butik" specialized in Scandinavian gifts (owner S.P. Rasmussen was a Danish immigrant). The slogan for the gift shop was "You Are Most Welcome at the Little 'White House'".

A 1972 ad for Rasmussen's Gifts from the Chicago Tribune.

In May 1979 the owners retired and listed the house for sale. In early 1980, it was purchased by the current owners and continued to be used for commercial purposes.

A Testimonial for a Harris Home

Harris Brothers of Chicago was a manufacturer of kit houses from 1907 until 1931. They didn't use testimonials in their advertising very often. In their 1928 Harris Homes catalog, they featured a letter from Owen Rietveld, who happened to live in Harvey.

Testimonial from the 1928 Harris Homes catalog. Model No. 1018 came in two floor plans--A and B.

287 E. 148th Street, Harvey. Photo courtesy of Cook County Assessor.

The Wilmette from the 1928 Building Materials Catalog (also known as No. 1018).

Harris Brothers sold the Wilmette (also known as No. 1018) for many years. The 1920 Building Materials catalog described the house in this way:

"Here is a charming California bungalow with all the conveniences you could wish for. There is nothing lacking in exterior elegance or interior comfort and room arrangement. The broad, spacious porch, covered by the main house roof with its strong supporting brackets and the divided-light window in the gable place this building in a class far beyond the ordinary type." 

The house came delivered with cedar shingles or bevel siding. Sometime after construction it was stuccoed over.

Cook County says the build year is 1923, I suspect it might be as early as 1921. The house was not there in 1920 since Owen was living at home with his parents, according to the census. Owen, a truck driver, lived in the Wilmette with his wife, Pearl, and son, Owen Junior.

The Rietvelds owned the house until the 1960's.

Even More Sears Homes in Barrington

In the Barrington area, my "partner in crime" is Wende Dau, who is the proud owner of a lovely Sears Sheridan. Wende kindly saves me gas money by snapping photos of the many Sears homes in her area. Here are just a few she took recently.

131 N. Raymond, Barrington. This authenticated Sears Cornell was built in 1925 for the Gallagher family. Anthony Gallagher got a mortgage from Sears for the house. Photo courtesy of Wende Dau.

Sears Cornell from the 1925 Modern Homes catalog.

239 W. Russell, Barrington. Photo courtesy of Wende Dau.

Sears Van Dorn from the 1928 Modern Homes catalog.

624 Bryant, Barrington. This is a rare two-flat from Sears that has been converted to a single-family home. This structure was moved to this location and was not built here originally. Photo courtesy of Wende Dau.

The Sears Garfield, from the 1928 Modern Homes catalog. The door on the far right led to the second floor apartment.

334 W. Main, Barrington. This Sears Martha Washington model is currently used as bridal shop. The business owners have a sales receipt from 1926 for $3,700. The bedrooms are used as fitting rooms. Photo courtesy of Wende Dau.

The Sears Martha Washington.

221 Coolidge, Barrington. This is an authenticated Sears Sheridan built around 1925. Photo courtesy of Wende Dau.

Sears Sheridan from the 1928 Modern Homes catalog.

The original shipping label from the Sheridan. Irving Schumann was a carpenter for the railroad and likely built the house himself. The Schumanns moved to Forest Park by 1930. Photo courtesy of Matt Hader.

The original siding on the Sheridan. Photo courtesy of Matt Hader.