A Small Sampling of Sears Houses in Des Plaines

Sears Roebuck houses often appear in clusters. Sometimes developers would buy several lots on a street and put up multiple kit houses at once for expediency. Sometimes a customer would build a Sears house for his own family and then build an investment property next door. Sometimes companies would build streets of kit houses for their workers.

Des Plaines is a hotbed of Sears homes. Two brothers, Elmer and Oscar Blume, built Sears houses for themselves in the city and also grew their contracting business by building Sears houses for their customers. Elmer said in the 1929 Sears Modern Homes catalog that, at that time, they had constructed more than 104 Sears houses--many of them in Des Plaines.

Elmer Blume, featured in the 1929 Sears Modern Homes catalog. Scan courtesy of Antique Home.

104 houses by 1929. Wonder what their final total was. Scan courtesy of Antique Home.

Here is a small sampling of Sears houses in Des Plaines. I bet the Blume brothers built most, if not all, of these homes.

1479 Lincoln, Des Plaines.

Sears Lynnhaven.

1309 Center Street, Des Plaines. 

Sears Vallonia.

1472 Algonquin Rd., Des Plaines.

Sears Somers.

 

Comparison of pillars.

1233 Center Street, Des Plaines.

Sears Hamilton.

Update! This Hamilton was "refreshed" last year and now looks like this...