Dear Members,

We have digitized our latest acquisition, the Sears Modern Homes Brick Veneer models from 1929

1929 Brick Houses

Do you own one? Have you seen one? We'd love to have a picture of how it looks today.

Lauren

That's a great catalog and I'm glad to see you're putting those images online for all to see and enjoy.

One of the MOST frequently asked questions is, "If my house is brick, does that mean it's not a Sears Home?" and the answer is, "Of course not!"

Sears did not supply masonry (due to weight and shipping costs), so it'd be so easy for a Sears Home to be bricked up by the homebuilder, and *and* Sears recognized that many people preferred brick, so these house designs were offered with "brick veneer" as an option.


Rose

Rose,
Thanks for dropping by.

I have a question for you. This catalog says that it contains the introductory models with brick veneer. It clearly states in this catalog that Sears *intended* to supply the brick for these homes.


So, when it came down to it - they found it too expensive to do? How do we know that?

Thanks

Lauren

Wow, I didn't know there'd be a pop quiz!

To answer your question, through the years, Sears made a point of saying that they would not ship masonry of any kind (block, stone, brick) with the kit homes due to shipping costs.

However, it's possible that for these "special" brick homes, they made an exception and shipped the brick right along with the rest of the kit.

One of the problems with Sears Homes is that there is still a lot that is NOT known about the history of the Modern Homes department and there's not *enough* known about the how/where/why of assembly. I've been diligently researching this topic since 1999 and I'm still learning each and every day.

In short, my comprehensive comment that they did NOT supply brick with these houses might be wrooooooo...., wrooooooo....WRONG! (Eeek!)

Rose

A brick Sears Mitchell in Indiana:

What a gorgeous place!
L.

Thanks for posting the awesome catalogue pictures. I think I have a Westwood Home, built in 1929 in the village of Wyoming in Cincinnati, Ohio. Obviously some changes were made during construction.

If anyone has any more information or resources about this particular Sears kit home, it would be appreciated. I am just beginning my investigation.

Have you found marked lumber in your Collingwood? That hosue is of a vintage that it certainly should have stamped lumber.

Let me know what you find. The problem with the Collingwood is that it was such a popular style of house.

Rose

BTurn,
Here is the image of the plan, so we can compare side-by-side.

Lauren

Well, your house doesn't have the dormer that the Collingwood does and your house has a front gable that the Collingwood doesn't. Does your chimney placement match?

The window placement on the right side of the house doesn't match up either.

I've seen other houses similar to yours here in Cincinnati, but they haven't been collingwoods.

What led you to believe that it might be a Sears?

Donna

Interesting how the Collingwood is almost dead-on the Westwood from the 1929 catalog. I agree there are some definite differences. What I learned from a woman who's childhood best friend lived in this house when they were in grade school is that the developer/builder for the neighborhood lived in this house, so I imaging he had the resources to make appeciable changes. It has only been suggested to me that the house is a Sears home. I have no confirming information. I'd love to learn the real story. Unfortunately, my neighborhood's historical society has no information on the house. I'm not sure where to turn next.

Oh, I forgot to mention that the chimney does match up. However, there is a 2nd chimney on the house, same side, off the kitchen.