A Bilt Well Plan Book House in Niles

6949 W. Jarvis, Niles.

Bilt Well Design No. 40. Scan courtesy of Rachel Shoemaker.

I snapped this photo of a unique "kit like" house in Niles, but had no idea what model it was. Researcher Rachel Shoemaker was able to identify it as a plan book house from Bilt Well Millwork. 

Another angle. Here you can see the distinguishing roof line of the front porch.

 

Floor plan for the Bilt Well Design No. 40. Scan courtesy of Rachel Shoemaker.

The Carr-Trombley Manufacturing Co. of St. Louis started selling house plans around 1917 under their Bilt Well Millwork brand. The Bilt Well plan service enabled consumers to buy a house complete with Bilt Well millwork.

Jens Pedersen of Minnesota published the plan books for Bilt Well. It's not clear where Pedersen obtained the plans.

The 1925 catalog from Bilt Well Millwork. Bilt Well was a division of Carr-Trombley Manufacturing Co. of St. Louis. Scan courtesy of Rachel Shoemaker.

The original owners were Charles E. Groat, his wife Mary, and their ten children. Charles was a plumbing contractor. The Groats lived in Iowa in 1920, and one of their children was born in Niles in 1922. So it is possible that this house was built as early as 1921-22.

There were a couple Bilt Well distributors in Iowa and that may have been where Groat learned of the company and obtained the plan book.

The Groats moved out of the house by 1935 and began renting it to the James Schalupnik family.

A Sears Hillsboro and the Most Famous Home Run in Baseball

6654 N. Oshkosh, Chicago.

Sears Hillsboro.

This authenticated Sears Hillsboro in Edison Park was built in 1932.

The architect of the Hillsboro was David S. Betcone, who designed many of the Sears models in the 1930's.

You can distinguish a Hillsboro from similar homes by the terrace that runs across the front of the house, the attached garage in the back, and the unusual layout on the side of the house (bathroom window, hallway window, door).
 

The original owners of the house were Matt Kandle and his wife, Harriet. Matt worked as a foreman at R.R. Donnelley & Sons.

Matt built the house himself, according to his great-grandson Kirk Kandle. Matt was a "stickler for quality and precision," according to Kirk. Matt liked the idea of buying a kit house from Sears because he could specify every option he wanted down to the smallest detail.

The original front door.

Matt was also an inventor and he enjoyed learning new things. In 1932, Kodak introduced the Standard 8 home movie camera, and Matt borrowed the camera from his employer. He took movies of the family at home, vacations, skits, and he even shot footage of the Sears house being built.

Matt also took a movie of one of the most controversial moments in sports history.

Matt and his daughter Gladys went to Wrigley Field on Oct. 1, 1932, to see Game 3 of the World Series between the New York Yankees and the Chicago Cubs. He brought the camera. Matt was seated about 15 rows behind third base.

In the fifth inning, Babe Ruth of the Yankees came up to bat and gestured to the outfield. Purportedly he was indicating that he was about to hit a home run into center field, which he subsequently did. Ruth's "Called Shot" has become legend and Matt captured it on film.

This is a still photo from the film shot by Matt Kandle in 1932.  Photo copyright is owned by Kirk M. Kandle.

The film did not put to rest the controversy over whether or not Ruth actually called the shot or made another gesture to the fans or the dugout; however, it is a celebrated piece of baseball history and is rare footage of Ruth actually playing and taking strikes (unlike newsreel highlights).

The Yankees won that third game, and the next day they secured the championship.

The film was stored in a cardboard box in the basement of the Sears Hillsboro for many years. Somehow it stayed intact and was not thrown out. Kirk now owns the valuable film and keeps it in a safety deposit box.

Matt died in 1951. Harriet sold the house soon afterwards and moved to an apartment.

Sears Wilmore

1301 Meyers Road, Lombard.

Sears Wilmore, from the 1938 catalog.

The Sears Wilmore was sold from 1933 to 1940. The assessor says that the Wilmore in Lombard was built in 1940, which is within the realm of possibility. 

The Wilmore in Lombard has a standard door from Sears with a nine-pane window.

 

The bellcast roof on the side of the Wilmore is an identifying feature. 

 

The other side of the Wilmore has a centered door with a triangle of windows. Photo from Realtor site.

 

The back. Photo from Realtor site.

 

 

Photo from Realtor site.

 

The kitchen has the tiny double window in the front of the house. Photo from Realtor site.

 

One of the bedrooms. Photo from Realtor site.

 

The other bedroom was turned into a laundry room. Photo from Realtor site.

The attic has been finished and has a family room and a master suite. Photo from Realtor site.

The 1939 Sears merchandise catalog shows happy newlyweds entering their Sears Wilmore.

 

Vintage Elements of a 1913 Sears House

Last summer, we featured a wonderful 1913 Sears house in Michigamme, Michigan.

106 Railroad Street, Michigamme, MI. Photo courtesy of Larry Johnston.

Sears Model No. 215 from the 1914 catalog.

Our original article featured many great historic photos. Sears Homes of Chicagoland reader Larry Johnston just noticed that the house is currently for sale for $115,000. Check out these photos from today!

 

Same newel post from the 1914 Sears merchandise catalog.

 

 

 

Same colonnade from the 1908 Sears merchandise catalog.

 

 

 

 

Same window from the 1916 Sears Modern Homes catalog.

 

Sears called this a "parlor mantel".

 

 
 

Same door hardware from the 1914 Sears merchandise catalog.

The listing reads: 

"1913 Sears & Roebuck Victorian Home in peaceful village in Michigan's Upper Peninsula. If you are looking for an opportunity to live in a beautiful piece of history, this is it. 

"This home features a front entry with stained glass window, oak staircase and landing with built-in oak bench and large beveled mirror. The downstairs has leaded glass windows throughout, tiled fireplace in living room and oak columns and carving separating entry and living room, bay window in the dining room, butlers pantry, new oak kitchen cabinetry, and office area with stained glass window. The upstairs has another stained glass window at the end of the hall, leaded glass window in master, plus three decent size bedrooms, one has a balcony. The only bathroom has new wiring and plumbing.  

"There are two enclosed porches, one on the side and one on the front. The open wrap-around porch is newly built and returns the house to its original look. The house sits on a rock wall basement.  

"The house is on a lot and a half with a separate workshop. The yard contains many roses, peonies, ornamental bushes, apple trees, an herb garden and garden area. This home is totally livable but is in need of restoration and some TLC. The owners LOVE this home and are only selling because of a job change." 

I had originally narrowed down the date of construction to 1909-1913. So the 1913 build date the owner states seems on target. 

The foundation is rock, which is not visible in the photos. Sears did not provide the materials for the foundation; the customer had to source them locally. So they did not require that the foundation be laid in a particular way. The customer could use poured concrete, cement blocks, brick, rock, or some combination of these. There was an iron ore mine in Michigamme at the turn of the century, which generated a lot of rock waste. I would imagine that many houses in the area have rock foundations because it was cheap and easy to acquire.