Sears House Catalog (sold under the name Modern Sears House ) is catalog and kit houses sold primarily through postal orders by Sears, Roebuck and Company, American retailers. Sears reported that more than 70,000 homes were sold in North America between 1908 and 1940. More than 370 different house designs in different architectural styles and sizes were offered during the 33 year program history.
Sears House can be found throughout the continent of the United States. While sold primarily to the East Coast and Midwest states, Sears homes have been placed as far south as Florida and as far west as California. An example has also been found in Alaska. A number of Sears homes have been identified in Canada.
Sears Modern Homes offers the latest technology available to home buyers in the early twentieth century. Central heating, indoor piping, and electricity are all new developments in the design of homes that "Modern Houses" are incorporated, though not all homes are designed with this comfort. Mainly shipped through railway cars, this kit includes most of the materials needed to build a house. Once sent, many of these homes are assembled by new homeowners, relatives, friends, and neighbors, in a manner similar to the traditional granary of a farming family. Other homeowners rely on local carpenters or contractors to assemble houses. In some cases, Sears provides construction services to assemble houses. Some builders and companies buy homes directly from Sears to build as home models, speculative homes or homes for customers or employees.
Sears did not resume his Modern Home catalog after 1940. A few years later, all sales records were destroyed during the cleaning of the company's house. Because only a small portion of these houses are documented when built, finding these houses now often require detailed research to identify them appropriately. Since various home-based kits often copy the plan or design elements from each other, there are a number of catalogs and model kits from different manufacturers that look similar or identical to the model offered by Sears. Determining which companies create particular catalogs and toy houses may require additional research to determine the origin of the house. National and regional competitors in the catalog and home kit markets include Aladdin, Bennett, Gordon-Van Tine, Harris Brothers, Lewis, Pacific Ready Cut Homes, Sterling, and Wardway Homes.
Video Sears Catalog Home
Sears Rumah Modern 1908-1942
In 1906, Frank W. Kushel, a Sears manager, was given responsibility for the heavy and unprofitable building materials department of the catalog company. Sales are declining, and there are excess inventories that languish in the warehouse. He is credited with suggesting to Richard Sears that the company assembles kits of all required parts and sells the whole house via mail order. That same year, the Aladdin Company in Bay City, Michigan, offered the first home kit through postal orders. In 1908, Sears published its first special catalog for homes, Modern House Books and Building Plans , featuring 44 home styles ranging from US $ 360- $ 2,890. The first post order for Sears House was filled in 1908. Since Sears's catalog of letters is in millions of homes, a large number of potential homeowners can open catalogs, see different home designs, visualize their new homes, and then buy them directly from Sears.
As sales grow, Sears expands its production, delivery and sales offices to regional sites across the US. To provide the materials needed for the Modern House division, Sears bought a wood factory in Cairo, Illinois. Later, Sears acquired a second plant in Port Newark, New Jersey and Norwood Sash and Door Company in Norwood, Ohio. The ability to mass-produce materials used at Sears' homes reduces production costs, allowing Sears to pass on savings in lower prices for customers.
Precut and wood fitting, an innovation pioneered by Aladdin, was first offered by Sears in 1916. Prior to 1916, would-be home builders had to cut the wood that Sears fitted to the appropriate length. These pre-1916 homes are generally not considered "workshop houses" but are under the definition of "catalog house". Construction of homes with cut timber reduces construction time by up to 40% according to Sears. The use of Sears from the "style balloon" framing system does not require a skilled carpenter team, as the previous method did. The balloon frame is built faster and generally requires only one carpenter. This system uses mostly standard sized precut wood (2 "x4" and 2 "x8") for framing.
Sent by railroad cars, and then usually transported to a home site, the average Sears Modern Home kit has about 25 tons of material, with over 30,000 parts. Pipes, electrical appliances and heating systems are not included in the base price of the house but can be included, at an additional cost, with house orders. Modern homes have central heating features, indoor water channels, and power lines are the first step for many families for modern HVAC systems, kitchens and bathrooms. During the Modern Homes program, a large number of asphalt shingles became available. Asphalt cheap syrup to produce and ship, and easy and cheap to install. The next feature is the use of drywall instead of plaster and wall building techniques that require carpenters and skilled plaster. Drywall offers the advantages of low price, easy installation, and additional fire protection. Local building requirements sometimes dictate that certain elements of home construction should be professionally and varied to meet the requirements of each country's territory. For example, the requirements for the depth of the foundation vary according to climate and terrain and whether the house is financed by Sears.
Sears began offering financing plans in 1912. The initial mortgage loan is usually for 5 - 15 years at 6% - 7% interest. Sales peaked in 1929, just before the Great Depression. At that time, the cheapest model was under US $ 1,000; the highest price is under US $ 4,400 ($ 13,687 and $ 60,225 in 2013 dollars respectively). While financing through Sears helps many homeowners buy homes, the Great Depression leads to an increase in payment defaults, thus increasing tension in the home catalog program. In 1934, Sears stopped offering mortgages after the company was forced to withdraw the $ 11 million failed debt. Sears stopped selling the house for a short time in 1934 before resuming sales. Sales slowly recovered when the United States emerged from the Great Depression but the decision was made in 1940 to end the Sears Modern Home division.
Maps Sears Catalog Home
Sears Modern Homes after 1940
The Sears Modern Homes catalog was last released in 1940. Although it is sometimes claimed that no Sears kit house was built after 1940, Sears continued to offer pre-cut kit homes up to 1941 and 1942. Many of these homes are based on models from the 1940 and Sears catalogs before but not all of them, leading to a debate about whether these homes qualify as "Sears Catalog Homes". Since these homes are built using wood and pre-cut plans provided by Sears, these homes are also considered "Sears Catalog Homes". Many of these homes built in Sears are planning a "Home Club Plan" in New Jersey, New York and Ohio. Houses are also being built for industrial companies such as Bethlehem Steel that buy and build 61 Sears homes in Hellertown, Pennsylvania.
Model
For 32 years Sears offers homes with catalogs, Sears offers 370 different models. In the early years, the model was identified by numbers. After a few years, Sears also started giving names to various models, a convention that lasted until the end of the program. Some models are offered with variations, the most common being the extension of the floor plan and the additional living space. Sears houses can also be booked with upside-down floor plans. While most models for single-family home designs, Sears does offer fewer duplex family house designs and even some larger double family buildings.
Certain models are more popular than others and the most popular models are offered over the years. Other models are offered for only one year and some of the models offered can not be identified as ever built. Some models are offered in versions of wood siding and brick veneers of different names associated with the same or nearly identical house plans. The models listed below are some of the most popular models.
- Alhambra
- Argyle
- Avondale
- Barrington
- Conway/Uriel
- Crescent
- Dover
- Elsmore
- Gladstone/Langston
- Hathaway
- Lewiston
- Lynnhaven
- Osborn
- Starlight
- Vallonia
- Western
- Willard
- Winona
The largest and most expensive model of Sears is Magnolia. Only seven known Magnolias are still standing. One Magnolia built in Lincoln, Nebraska was destroyed.
Identifying Modern Home Sears
Sears Homes have become increasingly popular among history buffs because of their sturdy structure, the nature of construction you can work on yourself, and popular architectural design concepts. However, many homes that are described as Sears Houses are not actual Sears Houses, either as a product of other home kit manufacturers or not home appliances at all. Sears Houses can be identified and/or authenticated using the following methods.
- The Sears Catalog House was only offered between 1908 and 1942 through a mail order catalog. Any house built before 1908, or after 1942, can not be the home of the Sears Catalog. However, there is some debate as to whether some homes from Sears built in 1941 and 1942 qualify as Sears Catalog homes. Some of these homes are based on models offered in the Sears Modern Homes catalog. The others do not but still house the pre-cut kit from Sears.
- Stamped Wood: The easiest to find in unfinished space like a basement or attic, framing members are stamped with letters and numbers. However, these stamps were not used on wood shipped before 1916, when Sears first began offering pre-cut pieces of wood.
- Original documents for home include blueprints and correspondence letters from Sears.
- Public records: From 1911 to 1933, Sears offered home mortgages and company officials Sears or Sears Roebuck company could be named on a mortgage or deed related to the property on which the house was built. Company officials Sears are often listed on mortgages and deeds include:
-
-
- Edwards D. Ford
- Walker O. Lewis (until early 1930)
- John M. Ogden
- E. Harrison Powell
- William C. Reed
- F. C. Schaub
- Nicholas Wieland (sometimes spelled Weiland)
-
Cities that have building permit records can list Sears Roebuck as the original architect. Also, homes in southern Ohio may have financing documents with "Norwood Sash and Door Company" from Norwood, Ohio.
- Shipping labels: Often found on the back of millwork such as pole or door prints and window trims, Sears-related shipping labels can show that homes are home Sears Catalog. Most of the millwork is filled with Sears-owned "Norwood Sash and Door Company" from Cincinnati, Ohio. However, building materials such as millwork can be purchased separately from Sears so millwork with shipping labels is not, by itself, a definitive indicator of the Sears Catalog house.
- Compare home design with original catalog image. Some models of Sears homes are very similar in design to models offered by other home kit manufacturers or through plan books. The design may have been modified but generally should fit in the layout and dimensions.
- Sears Catalog Homes built in the 1930s may have small "SR" claws encircled into the bottom corner of the bathtub (away from the bathtub and near the floor) and at the bottom of the kitchen or bathroom sink.
- The goodwall plaster sheet is the earliest drywall product offered by Sears and may be an indication of the Sears Catalog house.
Existing Sears House
Since the records of the sale of the Modern Houses division were destroyed, there was no way to verify exactly the number of Sears homes that remained. The documented Sears homes have been found throughout the United States and in several Canadian locations. Cities with a large number of Sears Catalog Homes that are documented include:
- Aurora, Illinois with 136
- Bristol, Rhode Island has "several," and Rhode Island may have "thousands" of Sears homes.
- Carlinville, Illinois with 149 in additional standard environments as well as some other Sears homes elsewhere in town. Carlinville is said to have "the highest concentration of adjacent Sears homes in the country."
- Cincinnati, Ohio, and surrounding communities in Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky with over 450
- Downers Grove, Illinois with over 30.
- Elgin, Illinois with over 200.
- Galveston, Texas has 10-12 in the historic downtown district.
- Massapequa Park, New York: More than 100 Sears homes are ordered by one developer. More than a dozen are built along Grand Boulevard.
- Washington, D.C. with over 250.
- Wood River, Illinois with 23.
The concentration of Carlinville, Illinois consists of homes purchased in bulk by Standard Oil Company in 1918 to accommodate its miners for a total cost of about US $ 1 million. The houses, consisting of eight different models, are all built in a 12-block area known as the Standard Addition. The construction of the house took nine months to be completed in 1919. Mass orders are the largest known orders for Sears Modern Homes and cause Sears, Roebuck to name their "Carlin" model after the city.
Not all Sears homes are private homes. At Greenlawn Cemetery, near the beach of Hampton Roads in Newport News, Virginia, the area, the funeral home building is Sears House Catalog 1936.
List of National Historic Places
Some Sears catalog homes are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Among others are:
- Alhambra: At Triangle Ranch near Philips, South Dakota
- Saratoga: The Hogue House in Chelsea, Oklahoma
- Strathmore: Chester Valentine House in Saranac Lake, NY
Sears catalog homes can also be found in the historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places:
- Eastwood Historic District: 10 Sears catalog homes from various models in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Old Town College Park: Includes Sears Alhambra and Sears Sheridan in College Park, Maryland
Modern Interpretation of Sears Catalog Homes
There are several examples of modern homes built on the Sears Catalog's home design. In some cases, homeowners use plans from the original Sears Catalog homes to rebuild modern versions of Sears homes. In other cases, the house follows the general design of the Sears house without a precise duplicate.
One of the replicas of Sears' famous catalog house is in the "Farm at Prophetstown" museum in Battle Ground, Indiana, featuring a replica of the Hillrose model. The house forms part of a farm in a museum.
Source of the article : Wikipedia
0 Comments