Origins of the Sears Magnolia

One of the more scholarly books about mail-order house catalogs is Houses from Books, published in 2000. In it, author Daniel D. Reiff analyzes how architectural publications and house catalogs influenced residential architecture styles.

The Sears Magnolia, a house in the Georgian Revival style, was featured in the Sears Modern Homes catalog from 1918 to 1923. According to the catalog copy, "Many will recognize a close resemblance in the Magnolia to the famous residence at Cambridge, Mass., where the poet [Henry Wadsworth] Longfellow composed his immortal works."

Sears Magnolia

Vassall-Craigie-Longfellow House, in Cambridge, Massachusetts, built in 1759. This house was George Washington's headquarters for 10 months in the Revolutionary War, and noted poet Henry Wadsworth Longellow's house for nearly fifty years. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.

"Close resemblance"? Not really.

Reiff posits that the Magnolia's design may have been more influenced by the Auguste L. Langellier house in Watseka, Illinois, built in 1903.

719 S. Fourth St. Watseka, Illinois. Auguste Langellier was a dairy farmer who clearly had some bucks. Photo courtesy of the Iroquois County Genealogy Society. 

Reiff may be onto something here. In the early years, Sears Roebuck occasionally used local area houses as models for their kit houses.

That said, Georgian Revival was a popular architectural movement in the late 1800's and early 1900's. There could have been many inspirations for the Magnolia in the architectural journals and the house plan books.
 

A Sears Magnolia at 424 19th St NW, Canton, OH. This is an authenticated Sears Magnolia, built in 1923. The original owners took out a mortgage from Sears Roebuck for $9,588.71. The photo was taken in the early 1980's, meaning the house was already 60 years old! Photo courtesy of the Ohio Historical Society.

  

Harris Home No. 1000

I found another Harris Brothers house in the Triangle neighborhood of Mount Prospect. This house is model No. 1000, and it was built about 1930.

11 S. William Street, Mount Prospect

The curved porch has been enclosed, the windows replaced, and the wood shingles replaced with siding.

The chimney also differs from the catalog picture. It may have been rebuilt at some point, or it may have been built that way originally. Harris Brothers and the other kit home manufacturers did not supply bricks/masonry with their building materials (due to weight and shipping costs). So buyers would buy the bricks or stone locally, and sometimes they would choose a different chimney style than what was seen in the catalog.

Closeup of the enclosed curved porch

A Personal Note
I was researching my family history and discovered that one of my relatives worked for Harris Brothers in Chicago in 1942. Harris Brothers stopped selling catalog homes around 1932, but the company remained in existence until the 1960's selling building materials like lumber, chain link fences, millwork, garages, tiles, cabinets, etc.

In this WWII draft registration card from 1942, my great grand aunt's husband stated he worked for Harris Brothers at 35th and Iron Streets in Chicago.

Harris Brothers site at 35th and Iron Streets in Chicago, about 1915.

A Forgotten Modernist House in Mount Prospect

Mount Prospect has a secret.  

On a downtown street sits a house that longtime residents whisper about — a Japanese‑influenced Prairie design that looks nothing like anything else in town. For decades, people believed it was created by a protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright, a rumor repeated so often it became local folklore.

And yet… no one knew who designed it.

115 S. Maple, Mount Prospect.

Real estate ads from the 1940s stated that the house was “designed by one of America’s foremost modern architects”, but who was it?

For years, the house existed in a kind of architectural limbo — speculated about, but undocumented. The house is not recognized by the Mount Prospect Historical Society and there is no information online. 

At Last, the Mystery is Solved

I am happy to relate that the house was designed in 1940 by Paul Schweikher, a noted mid‑century modernist. Schweikher never worked for Wright, nor did he study under him. But like nearly every residential architect of the era, he absorbed Wright’s ideas — horizontality, natural materials, low rooflines — and made them his own.

The house in 2005 with the original shingled pagoda-like roof. You can also see the original broad brick chimney. This was Schweikher's original design. Photo courtesy of Peter Austin.

Despite the Japanese-style roof, the building underneath is unmistakably American Prairie. There were often Japanese elements in Schweikher’s houses after he and his wife returned from their first trip to Japan in 1937. Exterior photo taken October 1947, from the Hedrich-Blessing archives. Photo credit: HB-09285-A, Chicago History Museum, Hedrich-Blessing Collection; Kenneth A. Hedrich, photographer.

Schweikher had considerable influence on residential design. He received widespread recognition with numerous awards and exhibits dedicated to his work. He was also influential in architectural education, chairing the departments of architecture at Yale University and Carnegie-Mellon University.

Between 1935 and 1971, Schweikher designed churches, schools, and over 50 houses. His two most famous structures were his own residence in Schaumburg (a National Historic Landmark, built 1946) and the Third Unitarian Church in Chicago. 

Interestingly at one point in his early career, Schweikher worked as a designer for General Houses Incorporated, which sold prefabricated homes. This company manufactured houses for Sears Roebuck in 1936.

Schweikher, around 1940.

The House History
The original owners of the Mount Prospect house were Dr. and Mrs. Stanley W. Burda. In 1936, Stanley Burda opened Burda Drug Store, located on Northwest Highway. Business must have been good at the drug store, because in 1940 the Burdas commissioned Schweikher to design their home. Unfortunately, Stanley died in 1943, and Mrs. Burda put the house up for sale later that year.

The  classified ads run at the time called the house a “5 rm. Calif. Moderne” but no mention of who the architect was.

Fast forward to April 1988. Peter Austin, the current owner, purchased the home from Frank Zupan and his wife. The Zupans told Austin that the house was historically significant and special, but had no specifics to offer. 

Curious, Austin went to the village, got a copy of the blueprints from 1940, and there it was:

Paul Schweikher, Architect.

A mystery solved by a simple trip to village hall.

The blueprints clearly credit Schweikher.

Renovations
Austin loved the house but needed a livable second floor. In 2005, he enlarged the dormers and altered the roofline to gain interior space that was desperately needed upstairs.

Austin, who calls the house his “baby”, wrote in an email, “I regretted architecturally having to change the original design of the house with the remodel I did in 2005 but the house needed an update and a more useful upstairs. Upstairs I added ceiling height, slightly more floor space, storage, a steam shower, and more light, updated mechanicals, made it all more efficient. The copper roof was a luxury and unique to the area's homes. I worked with a local architect who added touches that respected the Schweikher design.”

The house just before the remodel in 2005. Photo courtesy of Peter Austin.

Exterior photo taken October 1947, from the Hedrich-Blessing archives. Photo credit: HB-09285-E, Chicago History Museum, Hedrich-Blessing Collection; Kenneth A. Hedrich, photographer.

The south facing side before the 2005 remodel where the chimney is visible as well as another small dormer. Photo courtesy of Peter Austin.

The house during the remodel. The dormer was enlarged and the shingled roof replaced by one of copper. Photo courtesy of Peter Austin.

North view of the house as it looks today.

Schweikher often minimized street‑facing windows, placing most windows along the back wall to create privacy and a strong indoor‑outdoor connection.

Rear view of the house today. Another change was made to the house when the garage was added to the house around 1945. Photo courtesy of Peter Austin.

Exterior photo taken October 1947, from the Hedrich-Blessing archives. Photo credit: HB-09285-D, Chicago History Museum, Hedrich-Blessing Collection; Kenneth A. Hedrich, photographer.

The Interior
The house was originally two bedrooms and 1.5 baths.

The original walls of plywood and Douglas fir panels remain through much of the house. Even the ceilings are wood! Photo courtesy of Peter Austin.

The wood-clad staircase. The knots on the wood are visible to give a lodge-like feel. The vertical slatted screen to the right of the stairs is a visual divider that separates the spaces without walling them off, letting light and sightlines pass through. Photo courtesy of Peter Austin.

Schweikher's houses often featured floor to ceiling brick walls in the living and dining areas. Photo courtesy of Peter Austin.

The mid-century modern fireplace features wall-spanning masonry and a wide firebox. The exposed dark ceiling beams add to the coziness. Photo courtesy of Peter Austin.

A similar angle taken October 1947, from the Hedrich-Blessing archives. Photo credit: HB-09285-B, Chicago History Museum, Hedrich-Blessing Collection; Kenneth A. Hedrich, photographer.

The living room has a built-in shelving wall that echoes the horizontal lines of the fireplace. The full-height window gives a view of the backyard. Today the space is used as a dining area. Photo courtesy of Peter Austin.

A similar angle taken October 1947, from the Hedrich-Blessing archives. Photo credit: HB-09285-C, Chicago History Museum, Hedrich-Blessing Collection; Kenneth A. Hedrich, photographer.
 

Why This Place Matters

The S.W. Burda residence remains one of Mount Prospect’s most architecturally significant homes — even if its appearance has changed. The underlying structure, materials, and spatial ideas of Schweikher’s design are still present. The house retains its warm wood interiors, brick masonry, horizontal lines, and Prairie character. And thanks to Austin’s discovery of the original blueprints, the home’s true provenance is now known.