Below is a composite photo of my little kit home. I would love to have some assistance in identifying it!! It was built sometime between 1918 and 1928 in an area of Ventura, California known as "Montalvo"--a small town once outside the city limits which was originally constructed by the local Citrus Association to attract and encourage migrant workers to settle and stay year round. While most of the original town was washed away in the 1969 flood of the Santa Clara River, several of the original homes remain. They are all very small--under 500 sq. feet. There are about three left of this exact style, with two additional styles still standing, as well as three of the larger "2 bed + nursery" styles.

Some of the attic space timbers are numbered and lettered, as is the very strange, narrow cabinet in the kitchen. (I have seen illustrations which have the same cabinet containing a large metal tank). That is all I have found so far.

I have included interior shots, an exterior shot, and a floor plan (not to scale), so hopefully they can give some hints (such as hardware, windows, etc.). The original flooring is still intact, and is made of wide plank oak. One of the kitchen walls has some kind of copper tiling or covering long since paiinted over with layers of lead based paint, so I haven't explored it too much.

(The mosaic Italian marble bathroom floor is not original to the house--it was me just trying to give some class to the place using free scraps from a Malibu mansion!!)

There are eight houses on our now private drive, a little street that has captured this era as if in a time capsule. I would like to see it preserved, as it is the last remeaining street with the original homes...two whole blocks of these were demolished in the past five years for "industrial facilities". I am trying to do as much research on the homes as possible, and would love to be able to identify the maker of this sweet little kit home.

A friend once had an Aladdin Home catalog I gloanced through and I *THINK* the model my home resembled was the "Avalon". Can anyone confirm this or suggest another maker?

THANK YOU SO MUCH!



Sherri Skanes
Sassy1962@aol.com

Here are two more photos of some of the other models on our street, both being worked on right now.

First is the rear of the neighbor's reverse model of my house, showing the "bumped out" portion of the homes.


Next is a model that is sooooooo close to the Sears' KISMET both inside and out.


There are about 3 more models that are duplicated in our neighborhood, some having 3 bedrooms. I posted to Rosemary's site about the history of the neighborhood under the "Pacific Ready Cut Homes" topic, hoping to get some kind of response there as well. All of these little houses have numbers all over the boards, cabinets, etc....I just can't find a brand name or logo!!!

I am thinking that I do NOT remember the name somebody mentioned to me as being "Avalon" but for the life of me I can't remember what they said it was. The layout of my home is similar to the Sears "Fairy" and "Argyle" models.

Again, thanks for any help!
Sherri

No doubt this residence is a Pacific Home, I recognize the roofline brackets and gable vent. Based on the floorplan provided it appears to be a 64B (see attached). Although the doors and windows locations are a bit different the bathroom-paired closet arrangement was a common Pacific Homes design (see attcahed ister model 64A. Although the illustration features a pergola most home buyers preferred small porch or entrance hoods. Model 46B was in the 1919 Pacific Homes catalog (i attached a scan of the color cover) but not the 1925 Pacific Homes catalog that was reprinted from an original in my collection. Hope this helps your research.

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g79/ikcilow/PacificHomes1919Cover.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g79/ikcilow/PacificHome46B.jpg

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g79/ikcilow/PacificHome46A.jpg