A kit home designed by prairie school architect John van Bergen

www.searsarchives.com might have some info

This house was designed and built in Oak Park:

http://www.re-building.com/johnvanbergen/griffith.html

This is the actual house in that photo (the Aurora). John Van Bergen was probably asked to submit a design several years after this was built, and provided one already executed that seemed to fit the criteria of what Sears was looking for. It still stands but is much altered.

This other house is almost identical and has been conservatively restored:

http://www.re-building.com/ourhouse.html

I hope this helps.

Marty Hackl

THere are 370 designs of kit homes offered by Sears from 1908 - 1940. Of those 370 designs, I've seen fewer than 200 of them.

And that's after traveling to 22 states in five years. In other words, I suspect some of these more incredible designs (such as the Aurora) were never built.

Sadly, because Sears destroyed all sales records after a corporate housecleaning, there's no way of knowing which models were (and were NOT) built.

Rose

attached is a house i believe to be a sears "osborne" model.

this is in Louisville, Ky, in the neighborhood where i grew up.

there are several more nearby i think are the same model with some variation.

can you verify?

thanks

and welcome to the group.

another slightly different one, still looks like an osborne...

Be still my quivering heart. There are "SEVERAL" of these in Louisville, Kentucky??

Louisville, Kentucky...birthplace and childhood home of Diane Sawyer, home of THE WOMAN who is a host on Good Morning America, the show I've spent the last five years DREAMING of being on? THAT LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY???

<rose swooned and fell backward>

Tell me more.

Seriously, I have never been to Louisville and have always wondered if they have many Sears Homes. The two photos surely do appear to be really, really pretty Osbornes.

I love the Osborne. California-flavored, practical, attractive and well-proportioned.

Rose

yep, same louisville, also home to mohammed Ali, peewee reese, and hunter thompson.

there are a ton of great bungalows around here. i have attached another possible osbourne, also same neighborhood.

one historical note: the second picture from earlier post is on southwestern parkway and shawnee park. the park is one of seven designed by F. L. Olmstead. there are parkways that were intended to connect all the parks and a central hub near churchill downs. the parkways were never fully realized, but all segments are heavily populated by great craftsman bungalow. the first white trimmed one is on broadway in the west end of town about three blocks from the same park. about eight or so blocks east there is a pocket of eight or ten california low slung heavy pillared bungalows.

i just ride block after block admiring these houses.

if you ever get a change to visit i would be happy to show you around and get you in touch with the head of metro historic preservation to gather any info they might have on other sears models.

another reference i think you can find online is the Filson Club, a local group that collect history of the area. they have the best collection of records and photos i have ever seen.

anyway, glad i could give you a thrill

Getting back to the Aurora... ... there's one in Cincinnati. It has had only 3 owners. You can look at it online by going to hamiltoncountyauditor.org and clicking on property search. Then click on by address and type in 6416 Grand Vista. It's been featured in the Cincinnati Enquirer. They've added a wing to it but really kept it looking like its original to the house.

Donna

so.....what is the best reference to carry around in the car for identifying sears houses?

has anyone around here written any books on sears houses they could recommend?

quote:

has anyone around here written any books on sears houses they could recommend?

Oh my, what a wonderful question!!!

Actually, I heartily recommend my newer book, "Finding the Houses That Sears Built" which is a large book (8.5" by 11") and showcases Sears' 60 most popular designs. On one page is the original catalog image from the Sears Modern Homes catalog (full size) and on the facing page are two large photos of an existing Sears house.

Sears did sell about 370 designs, but I found that they had 60 best sellers that represent about 90% of their sales. My book focuses on those 60 best sellers.

The other book that I keep in my car is "Houses by Mail" (written by Stephenson and Jhandl and published by the National Trust) which is a smaller book (5 by 8) and shows most of those 370 designs.

Rose
author, "The Houses That Sears Built"
and "Finding The Houses That Sears Built"

thanks, i look for your books at Borders yesterday, but they didnt have any in stock.

did you see the post i had on the avalon look alike? i am attaching here again. im interested in your opinion. again, this is one street from one of the osbornes i sent earlier. and i think i may have found another osborne a few block from one of the earlier posts.

sorry, there was a problem with the attachment in the last post.

look at earlier post on avalon and you can see the pic.

i just sent a note to the local historic pres officer to see if there have been any studies of other info collected on sears houses in the area. i doubt there is much, but doesnt hurt to ask.

thanks

Hi Don;

Yeah, that last picture only partially downloaded. The earlier picture certainly appears to be the Osborne, but it's hard to say for sure. Almost looks TOO big for an Osborne.

That's part of the big problem: Sears kit homes were designed to look like the best selling homes of the day, making identification these 70 years later quite difficult.

Oh - and thanks for sending a note to the historic preservation officer.

Lastly - I'd love to come to Kentucky sometime and take a peek at your kit homes.

Rose