September 17, 2019

The Sears Berwyn Combines Comfort and Economy

4537 Central, Western Springs.  


Sears Berwyn.


The Sears Berwyn was one of the top four most popular kit house models in Illinois. You can spot at least one in most communities. In fact, 25% of all Berwyns located nationally are in Illinois.

The architect of the Berwyn was David S. Betcone. He said of the Berwyn's look: "To relieve the monotony of the ordinary rectangular plan we placed an offset along the front wall of this home. Under this front gable a small entrance porch gives the front door necessary protection. The openings on this porch have semicircle arches at the top which add to its attractiveness."

That fireplace chimney is not original to the house. You can also see an addition off the right side. 


The floors are oak. I love this bright living room!  


As delivered, the Berwyn had a plaster arch between the living room and dining room but the customer could opt to leave it open.  


 

 

The dining room buffet was relocated.  


Here's the rear addition.  


This Sears Berwyn in Western Springs was built about 1929 for Edward and Vera Dickenson. The house cost about $7,000 to construct. Edward worked as a printer.

The Dickensons remained in the home until Vera’s passing in 1977, marking nearly fifty years of ownership.



Copyright Disclaimer: All photographs in this post (unless otherwise noted) are from real estate aggregate Redfin.com and are used in this post for the purposes of education, consistent with 17 USC §107.


1 comment:

Autobug2 said...

Always wanted an original Sears kit home, as close as possible to how it was originally built. I've seen many styles; some I didn't realize were Sears homes! I'm a family of one, so a house like this Berwyn would be perfect for me.

Post a Comment