Author: Catarina Bannier

The Starlight’s Siblings

Catarina Bannier Kit Houses , , ,
Sears Starlight with slightly modified entry

Last week, we put a 1922 Sears “Starlight” catalog home on the market. It’s one of five known “Starlights” in DC (which have been authenticated mainly via the Sears Roebuck mortgages extended to the original owners). The Starlight was one of the simpler and less costly homes that the mail-order company offered in the 1920s, but this affordability was likely the reason for its success as well. The company branded it as one of their “top 20” bestselling models. At only 24 feet wide, it’s easy to see how the bungalow would have been a popular option for narrower city lots.

You can read about the home’s history here, but we thought it would be fun to show you the other ones, all in different parts of town, all near rail road tracks (where the “kit” with the house materials would be dropped off), and all in very different shape or state of updates.

This one was built in 1926 and is not too far away on 3rd St NW in Brightwood:

1926 Sears Starlight in Brightwood

Two more Starlights, in which later owners had made the front porch a part of the interior, can be found in nearby Takoma Park, Maryland:

Sears Starlight on Flower Ave
Sears Starlight on Cedar Ave in the Takoma Park Historic District

The other three DC Starlights can be found on Evarts St NE, and on 31st Place and Brothers Place in SE (images courtesy of Google Streetview and MRIS):

Sears offered an upgraded, more luxury version of the Starlight at the same time: the Hamilton, which featured nearly the same floor plan, but extended the living room into the porch, allowing it to have a fireplace. They also added a bay window to the dining room and a breakfast room to the back.

To show you what this looks like, here’s a pretty, night-blue Hamilton near the District line in Silver Spring MD:

Authenticated 1926 Sears “Hamilton” in Silver Spring

What We Are Grateful For

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Sears Woodland Nevada Avenue
One of Chevy Chase DC’s stately 1920s “Woodlands” from the Sears mail-order catalog

Well, first off, there are so many things we are grateful for here at the DC HouseSmarts — our loved ones, our health, our diverse, interesting and energizing clientele, our supportive bunch of colleagues at Evers & Co., and to live in a place that has always valued social responsibility and freedom of speech and expression, and–of course–our homes.

But since a great part of our day (or let’s say, many of our days) is devoted to city history and historic  homes, we’re ever so grateful to live and work in a place where this history is valued and preserved.

Last week, we were lucky enough to give a talk about kit houses and the state of our research at the Chevy Chase Community center. It was not only well-attended, but we also counted a total of 10 actual Chevy Chase kit house owners on the guest sign-in! Several others called or emailed in advance of the event, telling us they were sorry they couldn’t attend but they would still be interested in participating in Historic Chevy Chase’s kit house project. In the latter, we will cooperate in documenting, authenticating and cataloging (!) Chevy Chase’s catalog homes.

(Built in 1925)
A 1925 Lewis “Marlboro” on Military Road

Chevy Chase, especially the part on the DC side, is unique in terms of its collection of well-preserved kit houses, most of which are from the government expansion years in the 1920s and many of which were larger, more stately models. To date, we have identified about 20 homes from the Lewis Manufacturing Co., nearly 50 from Sears Roebuck and four from Gordon-Van Tine. The majority of those have been authenticated either via mortgage records, original building permits or unmistakable brand identifiers. (We have to thank kit house historians from other parts of the US, such as Michigan researcher Andrew Mutch for much of this work.) We’re also sure there are a bunch we haven’t discovered yet.

Before the talk, we had sent out letters to almost all of those owners we could track down, and the response was amazing. Some had no idea their home once came in a box car by rail but were intrigued to find out more.  Others provided anecdotes, letters and pictures, all of which we will eventually scan and make available as part of the project. But almost everybody we heard from is interested in helping us assemble and preserve this amazing piece of DC and national history. It’s definitely something that goes on our list of things to be grateful for. Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, and stay tuned for more!

(You can find many more posts about the area’s mail-order houses here and here.)

Shelbourne on Northampton

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Kit House of the Week 10/18/2016

3518 northampton stFacts & Figures:

Manufacturer: Lewis Manufacturing Co.

Model Number or Name: The Shelbourne

Year Built: 1923/1924

Neighborhood: Chevy Chase, DC

Authenticated: Yes. Promissory note to local Lewis rep in the land records; Lewis-typical lumber markings in grease pencil; trim details, lewis catalog hardware consistent with year/model

To see the original Lewis Catalog Page, click here *. For a photo of another Chevy Chase “Shelbourne”, click here. (For more photos of the house, scroll down to the gallery)

House History

The first owners of 3518 Northampton were George and Anna Stephens, a government economist and his wife, who had married late and moved to DC from Kansas. They were in their 40s and had a toddler son and a baby daughter when they purchased the mail-order home in 1923. They took out three mortgages, one for $2750 from Lewis’ local representative Guy Zepp, another one for $5000 (presumably for the construction) and a third from Fulton R Gordon for the purchase of the land, lots 39 and 40.

Screenshot 2016-10-18 01.02.22It was the narrow but deep configuration of the lot that dictated a modification from the design: The side porch was eliminated and a fireplace was put in place of the french doors. We don’t know why the Stephens put the house up for sale less than a year later, and perhaps even before moving in. The add to the left is from the Washington Examiner. Another one, placed in the Washington Post, praises the house as “a home so well-situated at such a low price. (…) convenient to Chevy Chase public school, churches, stores, moving picture theater. Ideal home for a small family with children.” The latter sentence would constitute a fair housing violation in 2016 terms, but the rest is quite applicable almost 100 years later.

The Stephens must have changed their minds, however, because they ended up raising their own “small family” there and lived in the house until 1949. They might also have been the ones who build the addition, combined two bedrooms into one larger one and added another two to the back of the house.

 

The current owners, only the third in the home’s history, bought the “Shelbourne” in the late 1960s and added their own touches and updates, including a comfortable sauna in the basement. It is currently on the market for $1,100,000, listed by Compass. A fabulous 3-D tour enables you to compare the current expanded and somewhat modified footprint to the original floor plan and to observe many well-preserved Lewis details. And if you happen to own VR headgear, you’re also getting a virtual reality option. Enjoy. (Or if you’d like to have a look in person, just give us a call.)

More Photos (click thumbnails to enlarge)

_________________________________________

Are you Interested in Kit House History? We can help!

Cati and Marcie are Realtors by day and house history enthusiasts by night. We specialize in NW DC and close-in Montgomery County, MD, but cover the entire Washington metropolitan area. House History–the hidden stories behind the walls of the homes we sell or walk by every day–has long been a passion of ours (In fact, for Cati, a former journalist, it was what ultimately brought her to the world of DC real estate).

We have written about many house-stories in our individual blogs over the years, and we sometimes have surprised (and delighted!) clients with our research findings. When the time allows, we love digging in archives, city records and historic collections. What we find, is sometimes funny, sad or scary, but it’s always a part of the DC area’s story as well. And when it comes to history of any kind, there could not be a better place for that than the metropolitan area of the Nation’s Capital!

If you have followed us for even a short while, you probably know that one of our special interests are the mail-order homes of the early 20th century. In many Washington, DC, neighborhoods and in the city’s older suburbs, we can find an abundance of those historic kit houses. (More often than not, the owners have no idea that some 90 or 100 years ago, their house arrived neatly packaged on a railroad car, in thousands of numbered pieces.)

You can learn more about catalog homes here, “like” our Facebook page for updates or email or tweet us with questions or suggestions for houses to write about.

Join the Mailing List for our Annual Kit House Newsletter:

*Catalog images provided courtesy of Internet Archive.

Open Sunday: Renovated Cape Cod in Wyngate

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New listing, 4 bedrooms, and 2 full baths, brand-new kitchen and bathrooms. Open Sunday 1-4 pm. (For more info, scroll down below the video.)

9216 Villa Drive, Bethesda, MD 20817

Offered at $719,000

Welcome to this beautifully renovated Cape Cod-style home on a tranquil, pretty block in one of DC’s premier suburbs. Listen to the birds in the backyard, while you’re just minutes away from the Beltway or bus lines. This move-in ready, 4-bedroom, 2-bath home has a new kitchen, two new baths and tons of unexpected storage space.

The bright, open living room features a wood-burning fireplace and leads through the formal dining room into a brand-new, crisp white kitchen with stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops and access to a grassy, fenced-in flat backyard.

A pantry and hall coat closet offer extra storage. Across the hall to the other side of the house, you will find two bedrooms with double exposures and a new full bath.

Upstairs, you will find two additional large bedrooms with multiple closets and built-ins as well as a tastefully remodeled second full bath.

The finished lower level features a bright, deep recreation room with big windows and built-in cabinets, an exit to the yard as well as the laundry, utilities and lots of storage.

Within walking distance:  Wyngate Elementary school, North Bethesda Middle School, several parks, Walter Johnson High, and Old Georgetown Road with bus stops to Metro and downtown Bethesda.

Within a mile: the Beltway and I-270; NIH and Suburban Hospitals; the Bethesda YMCA, Old Georgetown Square with Giant and DSW; Wildwood Shopping Center with Balducci’s, Starbucks, and specialty stores.

Within easy driving distance: Montgomery Mall, Strathmore Music Center, several country clubs, Wildwood Shopping Center, Cabin John Regional Park, and the numerous offerings of Rockville Pike.

——-

Main Level

– Living room with fireplace.

– Formal dining room with recessed  lighting and pantry, opening to…

– All-new kitchen with granite counters, new appliances, leading to…

– back entrance with stairs to a level backyard

– Hall with coat closet, separate linen closet and access to basement

– New first floor full bath with tub

– Two bright bedrooms

– Satin refinished oak wood floors throughout

Upper level

– Landing/hall with deep linen closet

– Two large sunny bedrooms, each with three exposures via dormers and gabled windows and with multiple closets, built-ins and under-eaves storage

      Newly Remodeled hall bath with walk-in shower-

– Attic access from hall

Lower Level

– Day-lit recreation room with large window overlooking the yard, built-ins, and new wall-to-wall carpet

– Generous laundry room with large capacity washer and dryer

– Additional storage in furnace room

– Staired Exit to back yard

Facts & Figures

– Built in 1955, renovated in 2016

– Lot size: 6,105 sq. ft.

– Total estimated tax bill for new owner (FY 2017): $7,352.85

– Private driveway

– Central A/C

  • – New kitchen and bathrooms 2016
  • – New ceiling and carpet in basement

– Newly landscaped yard 2014

– New insulation for attic 2012

– New roof with wide gutters 2012

– New window blinds  for entire house in 2012 and living room blinds 2015

– New fence 2015

– Closet shelving and expansion in upstairs bedrooms 2014

Kit House Of The Week: A 1922 Gordon-Van Tine “No. 542” In Chevy Chase/DC

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Gordon-Van Tine No. 542GVT No. 542-IMG_5819Every now and then, we still come across a kit house that really makes us happy. Because something about it is just perfect. Either perfectly preserved or perfectly balanced for the 21st century, perhaps in a great neighborhood or a in great setting, or several of the above. Such is the case for the Gordon-Van Tine No. 542 at 3714 Livingston Street NW in historic Chevy Chase, DC. After discovering the almost 100 year old original sales deeds for the house just a few weeks ago, we were thrilled to see it come on the market this month. (It’s listed with Long & Foster for $1,139,000, and you can see floor plans and lots of pictures in the virtual tour here.) For details relevant to the mail-order history, scroll down to the gallery below.

The home, once erected by local builder Ellsworth Tessier on spec and financed with a Gordon-Van Tine mortgage, has been expanded over the years, possibly in stages, but not in out-of-proportion ways. It’s neither pretentious nor super-sleek, but has a generous and warm feel-good appeal all over. (Hey, I’m not the listing agent here; I mean it!) What was once the living room now functions as a spacious entry hall with built-ins, the formerly pretty small kitchen has given way to a hall with powder room and closet. And the cedar deck we had already admired from afar in the spring looks just as comfy and inviting close-up.

There are many original GVT details, such as the strong and simple lines of the woodwork or an interesting inlay pattern of the oak floors that we don’t get to see very often in DC (there are, as of now, only 4 documented existing GVT houses here), and that’s always a reason to get excited. So, there you have it.

DC’s Valuable Veronas

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Kit House of the Week 6/24/2016

Chevy Chase, DC
Front elevation (portico likely not original)

Manufacturer: Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Model Number or Name: The Verona

Year Built: 1923 /1920

Neighborhoods: Chevy Chase, DC; Falls Church, VA

Authenticated: Yes. 1923 Sears mortgage for the Western Ave house

“Another million-dollar Sears house?!” Kit house enthusiasts from other parts of the country are usually stunned when we present them with listings of mail-order homes in Chevy Chase or some of DC’s other tony suburbs. But it’s not the fact that the home was once ordered from a catalog that determines the price. In many cases, neither sellers nor buyers are even aware of it.  Rather, the factors are the same as for any other house: the neighborhood, the size and style of the home, the updates, the condition, the location and size of the lot, as reflected in the “comps.”

This week, we have a couple of lovely examples for you. Both are Sears “Veronas” with much original detail, although from different catalog years between which the model had evolved a little. The first one is a 1923 Verona at 6019 Western Avenue in Chevy Chase/DC, currently listed for $1,195,000. The gallery below (click images for larger version) emphasizes tell-tale identifiers, but more photos, including the addition, can be seen in the listing here.

Our second Verona can be found in a Virginia suburb of DC, Falls Church, at 2468 Buckelew Drive. It predates the Chevy Chase house by a few years, and some of the differences in interior detail (like the simpler style of the stair rail) as well as the differently configured bay windows attest to that. The house itself is sitting on a huge 2.3 acre lot (not easily found in close-in the more close-in areas) and is listed for $1,399,000. It features a somewhat unusual but pretty neat family room addition. [Update, December 2022: the home finally sold in 2018 for $1M.  You can see the last listing here. ]

So far, we haven’t dug into the history of either house, but will be back with an update when we do!

And again, it’s the “comps,” the most recent comparable resales in an area or neighborhood that guide the pricing–for kit houses just like for any other house.  Although one thing is true: the more expensive the neighborhood, the higher the chance that potential buyers appreciate the historic value of the house, and the less likely that it has been destroy-renovated.

_________________________________________

Are you Interested in Kit House History? We can help!

Cati and Marcie are Realtors by day and house history enthusiasts by night. We specialize in NW DC and close-in Montgomery County, MD, but cover the entire Washington metropolitan area. House History–the hidden stories behind the walls of the homes we sell or walk by every day–has long been a passion of ours (In fact, for Cati, a former journalist, it was what ultimately brought her to the world of DC real estate).

We have written about many house-stories in our individual blogs over the years, and we sometimes have surprised (and delighted!) clients with our research findings. When the time allows, we love digging in archives, city records and historic collections. What we find, is sometimes funny, sad or scary, but it’s always a part of the DC area’s story as well. And when it comes to history of any kind, there could not be a better place for that than the metropolitan area of the Nation’s Capital!

If you have followed us for even a short while, you probably know that one of our special interests are the mail-order homes of the early 20th century. In many Washington, DC, neighborhoods and in the city’s older suburbs, we can find an abundance of those historic kit houses. (More often than not, the owners have no idea that some 90 or 100 years ago, their house arrived neatly packaged on a railroad car, in thousands of numbered pieces.)

You can learn more about catalog homes here, “like” our Facebook page for updates or email or tweet us with questions or suggestions for houses to write about.

Join the Mailing List for our Annual Kit House Newsletter:

*Catalog images provided courtesy of Internet Archive.

 

Perceptively Perfect: Aladdin Pomona Addition In AU Park

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Kit House of the Week 3/11/2016

Aladdin kit house addition, awesome architect
Aladdin addition done right: Continuing the natural line of the roof, even the new garage, entry hall, expanded porch and second floor spaces look like they have always been there.

Facts & Figures:

Manufacturer: Aladdin Co. of Bay City, MI

Model Number or Name: The Pomona

Year Built: 1921

Neighborhood: AU Park, DC

Authenticated:  We’re working on it (as of 3/16) and are hoping to obtain the original purchase/shipping receipt soon. Aladdin sold only a handful of homes to DC developers and owners each year in the 1910s and early 1920s.

Scroll down or click for original catalog image or description and floor plan of the Aladdin “Pomona” (image scans courtesy of Aladdin archives/Clarke research library). Click here for interior pre-addition photos from 2009 (courtesy of MRIS).

House History

Picture book example: The AU Park Aladdin Pomona in 2009, before its expansion
Picture book example: The AU Park Aladdin Pomona in 2009, before its expansion (Photo: MRIS)

In both this blog and on DC house Cat, Marcie and I have frequently bemoaned the many destroy-renovations of historic kit houses we come across. We see them all the time, usually in quick flip listings or “re-muddeling” efforts that go back to the 1970s or 80s when charming was considered dated.

Today, rather than going into the deep history of this American University Park mail-order home, we want to show how the contemporary expansion of a hundred year old home can be done beautifully and with respect.  A lovely neighbor believes the name of the architect is Brady. (We have tried to get in touch with the owners and will update the post once we hear from them.) However, the pictures speak for themselves.

Artists rendition of the "Pomona" as pictured in the 1922 Aladdin catalog (image courtesy of Clarke research library)
Artists rendition of the “Pomona” as pictured in the 1922 Aladdin catalog (image courtesy of Clarke research library)
Aladdin kit house addition, awesome architect
Aladdin addition done right: Continuing the natural line of the roof, even the new garage, entry hall and expanded porch and second floor spaces look like they have always been there.
Aladdin mail-order home in AU Park, Washington DC
With shingled siding, characteristic eaves brackets and muntined casement windows, the addition picks up many of the original architectural details
Awesome addition on historic house in Washington DC
Even from the back, the 2-story addition is a masterly example for how it’s possible to blend in and maintain the integrity of the original architecture. Yet it’s clearly made for the 21st century. Note the solar panels on the roof.
Aladdin kit house in Washington DC
Barely a hint from the street: the addition maintains the visual appearance and is sensitive to the original dimension and character
Aladdin kit house in Washington DC
The “Pomona” was offered in two versions: either as a 2-bedroom model, or — at the cost of living room size — with 3 bedrooms. (Image courtesy of Aladdin archive/Clarke research library)

–
*Catalog images provided courtesy of the Clarke Historical Library.

___________________________________________________

Are you Interested in Kit House History? We can help!

Cati and Marcie are Realtors by day and house history enthusiasts by night. We specialize in NW DC and close-in Montgomery County, MD, but cover the entire Washington metropolitan area. House History–the hidden stories behind the walls of the homes we sell or walk by every day–has long been a passion of ours (In fact, for Cati, a former journalist, it was what ultimately brought her to the world of DC real estate).

We have written about many house-stories in our individual blogs over the years, and we sometimes have surprised (and delighted!) clients with our research findings. When the time allows, we love digging in archives, city records and historic collections. What we find, is sometimes funny, sad or scary, but it’s always a part of the DC area’s story as well. And when it comes to history of any kind, there could not be a better place for that than the metropolitan area of the Nation’s Capital!

If you have followed us for even a short while, you probably know that one of our special interests are the mail-order homes of the early 20th century. In many Washington, DC, neighborhoods and in the city’s older suburbs, we can find an abundance of those historic kit houses. (More often than not, the owners have no idea that some 90 or 100 years ago, their house arrived neatly packaged on a railroad car, in thousands of numbered pieces.)

You can learn more about catalog homes here, “like” our Facebook page for updates or email or tweet us with questions or suggestions for houses to write about.

Join the Mailing List for our Annual Kit House Newsletter:

 

A Once Beloved Westly Worth Saving

Catarina Bannier Kit Houses , , , , , ,
Westly catalog house

Kit House of the Week 3/4/2016

Sears Westly Kit house in chevy chase
A Sears “Westly” with a stormy history in Chevy Chase, DC

Facts & Figures:

Manufacturer: Sears, Roebuck and Co.

Model Number or Name: The Westly

Year Built: 1926

Neighborhood: Chevy Chase, DC

Authenticated:  Yes. Sears mortgage for $6,000 recorded on 1/19/1926.

To see the original Sears Catalog Page, click here. For photos of other DC area Westlys, click here. (For more photos of the house, scroll down to the gallery)

House History

This Sears “Westly” right across the street from Lafayette Elementary is not technically on the market. But since it was last year (and has been vacant for years), it’s probably still for sale. Or not. But we’ll get to that.

The house was originally bought in 1926 by Elmer and Eula Sours. Elmer was a carpenter by trade, so we can assume that he was one of the few Chevy Chase kit house owners who actually put the house together by himself.  This makes it even stranger that the mortgage was so high; the catalog price for the house was only $2,614 in 1926, and there was a second deed of trust over $3,600 for the land purchase at one of DC’s new prime suburban addresses on Broad Branch Road. The garage and plumbing or foundation cost could hardly make up the difference.

And the problems started soon: the Sours and their daughter, Margaret, only lived in the house for a year before an equity suit from a family member (more debt?! Perhaps there were gambling or other problems at play?) forced them to sell the property back to the land developer and pay off the Sears mortgage. They moved back to Virginia.

The house stayed on the books as a rental ($110 in 1930!) with Fulton Gordon.

September 1930 ad from the Washington Evening Star
September 1930 ad from the Washington Evening Star

It wasn’t until 1943 when a loving family of musical foreigners, Denise and Conrad Bernier, finally bought it and moved in with their two young sons, Claude and Jacques. The Berniers, “aliens” in the 1940 census would own the house for 66 long years. Conrad was a French Canadian organist, composer and music professor who played many concerts in DC and elsewhere. Denise was the daughter of a Spanish opera singer and a French woman. She taught both Spanish and French at Holton Arms for many years. Denise lived to be 107; she died in 2012, only a few years after selling the house to the current owner.

What happened after that, is a bit of a mystery. It seems the house was lived in from about 2009-2011, but for the past 5 years, the started renovation has come to a standstill. (I took some of the pictures here in 2012.) It is quite apparent, that the owner made great effort to preserve some of the details. According to neighbors, he did much of it by himself but must have run out of money and time. He never moved back into the house. Last year, it was on the market for a while, but at a price that didn’t reflect the current state. Local historians were concerned with the fact that the Realtor advertised the listing as a potential teardown.  We suspect that, deep in his heart, the owner doesn’t really want to let go of his “Westly.”

A savior is needed here, and as we know, it probably all comes down to the price. Doesn’t it?

[space]

More Photos (click thumbnails to enlarge)

_________________________________________

Are you Interested in Kit House History? We can help!

Cati and Marcie are Realtors by day and house history enthusiasts by night. We specialize in the Washington, DC area. House History–the hidden stories behind the walls of the homes we sell or walk by every day–has long been a passion of ours (In fact, for Cati, a former journalist, it was what ultimately brought her to the world of DC real estate).

We have written about many house-stories in our individual blogs over the years, and we sometimes have surprised (and delighted!) clients with our research findings. When the time allows, we love digging in archives, city records and historic collections. What we find, is sometimes funny, sad or scary, but it’s always a part of the DC area’s story as well. And when it comes to history of any kind, there could not be a better place for that than the metropolitan area of the Nation’s Capital!

If you have followed us for even a short while, you probably know that one of our special interests are the mail-order homes of the early 20th century. In many Washington, DC, neighborhoods and in the city’s older suburbs, we can find an abundance of those historic kit houses. (More often than not, the owners have no idea that some 90 or 100 years ago, their house arrived neatly packaged on a railroad car, in thousands of numbered pieces.)

You can learn more about catalog homes here, “like” our Facebook page for updates or email or tweet us with questions or suggestions for houses to write about.

Join the Mailing List for our Annual Kit House Newsletter:

*Catalog images provided courtesy of Internet Archive.

Developer Kite’s Darling Kit Houses (Part 2)

Catarina Bannier Kit Houses , ,

Macomb Kite houseSince we talked about the earliest known kit houses in DC earlier this fall, we heard from two of the owners! If there had been any doubts left that developer Harry Kite actually purchased the spacious Cleveland Park bungalows as pre-packaged kits from Sears Roebuck rather than “replicating” the Sears model he had seen at the Illinois State Fair locally, we’re now certain that he purchased them from Sears.

The first of the owners who had come across our post wrote to the CP Historic Society and pointed out that the supposed “architect” named on the original building permits was a teenager:

” (…) I loved the post about the Macomb Street kit houses.  I’m attaching the obituary of Albert E. Landvoight, who was the “architect” of our house, (…) Macomb St., a bungalow built in 1911 by Harry A. Kite.  Landvoight was frequently listed as the architect for Kite.  What really supports the theory of these bungalows being kit house[s] is the fact that Albert was the ripe old age of 19 when he was allegedly the architect of these homes! (…)”

21398755821_451dc86218_o Balustrade detail-1911 Sears No. 151-IMG_4319
Landvoight, who in later decades did become a successful architect, might have been some kind of apprentice or intern in Kite’s business at the time. (Really going out on a limb here, but perhaps he was entrusted with the filing of those permits in 1910.) In fact, according to the Capital Hill Restoration Society’s list of legacy architects and builders, “Albert E. Landvoight, architect (1892-1955) […] was born in Washington and attended McKinley High School. He began working for Harry Kite in 1913, served in World War I, and afterward continued to work as an architect. He designed residences and apartments for Kite and for Boss & Phelps.”

Scannable Document on Dec 3, 2015, 13_45_23 1911 Sears Avalon-No 151. Fireplace-IMG_4313 (2)

He certainly didn’t design the Sears kit house model of “Modern Home No. 151” which was first exhibited in 1908 or 1909 in Springfield, IL (brochure photo courtesy of Rachel Shoemaker). Kite himself had told the Evening Standard that the Sears model was the one he had chosen for his parcels on Macomb St. The houses all have the same modifications from the published plans (namely, fewer and larger windows in the front, a modified door placement as well as shorter porch overhangs–measures likely intended to make the interior brighter). It was not unusual for Sears to accommodate such special wishes. In fact, the company marketed heavily to builders with the idea that it would be most cost-effective to build whole batches of houses and that different exteriors could give houses with the same floor plan a less uniform look.Screenshot 2015-11-18 21.42.21 Sears built-in leaded glass bookshelf-kit house-IMG_4311 (1)
1912 Sears catalog bookcase hingeThe pictures in this post are from 1910 and 1913 Sears catalogs along with yet another one of the Macomb St. “No. 151” houses, whose owners have lived in the house for a couple of decades. They were delighted to learn of their home’s interesting history and generously invited us in to document many of the well preserved original details. Such surviving details are important in their sum, as in the early years (between about 1908 and 1914) the packaged lumber for the kit wasn’t precut and stamped as in later years. This is what makes the older homes much harder to authenticate, especially in the absence of deed documentation and mortgage records which are more readily available for those homes built in the 1920s and ’30s.A slideshow of the (somewhat more remodeled) No.151 that was recently sold can be seen here.

Sears Roebuck Homes CCA98234_0128 1911 Sears-mosaic bath tile--IMG_4318

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To read about what kind of people in DC would buy kit houses in the 1910s and 1920s, click here.

If you think you live in a kit house and would like to share some details or pictures with us, or if you would like assistance in authenticating your historic mail-order home, feel free to get in touch with us via the form below or shoot us an email: kithouse@dchousesmarts.com

reCAPTCHA

A Perfect “Reproduction” (Part 1)

Catarina Bannier Kit Houses , ,
3929 Macomb St NW, one of the oldest known kit houses in DC
2939 Macomb St NW, one of the oldest known kit houses in DC

It’s been a summer of fabulous new catalog house discoveries for us, although we have a lot of catching up to do to present here. Since my talk at the Cleveland Park Historic Society in May, we also came across what so far are the oldest authenticated catalog houses in DC–and they’re on Macomb Street, right in the Cleveland Park Historic District!

It’s a persistent myth that the historic kit houses (like those from Aladdin, Sears or Lewis) were all built by Harry Homeowners and their handy families. The testimonials in old Sears catalogs might make it sound that way, and it was certainly the case for many of them, especially for smaller models and perhaps more so in the later years. But in here in DC, a town full of government employees, lawyers and office workers, quite the opposite is true. Many of the catalog houses we have identified were erected by builders, often on spec.

That’s also what happened to 2937 to 2941 Macomb St NW — the lots were developed by some Harry A. Kite who built the first “four small detached houses” at “reasonable prices” from “perfect plans” in 1911. He did not mention that they were “Avondales” (at the time still known as “No.151”) and “Matokas” (a.k.a. “Modern Home No. 168”), offered by Sears, Roebuck and Co.

We almost didn’t recognize them, as each model had some modification to porch design and facade fenestration made–in the Avondale, the door moved to the middle and some smaller windows were combined in to one large one. This customization–common on developer’s orders–might have been done to make the look fit better into the neighborhood. More likely, though, it was intended to distinguish the home from catalog images, should any buyer ever come across them!

How do we know? When 2939 Macomb St NW recently came on the market, I got a peak and shared my thrilling discovery with Cleveland Park historian Carin Ruff. She didn’t know it was a kit house but knew about the developer and promised to search her permitting database (which will likely show Sears Roebuck as the “architect” of the house. The very same day, a kit house enthusiast from Oklahoma published a Sears’ iconic “Avondale” bungalow, which she says was the kit house model Sears built for the 1909 Springfield Illinois state fair.  She also was the one who found a December 1910 article from the Evening Star, in which developer  Kite described what he wanted to build on his Macomb St lots: “exact reproductions of the model bungalow dwelling on exhibition on the Illinois state fair grounds.”

You guessed it: Sears (or house catalogs) were not mentioned at all, only that the plans had been chosen from “among hundreds submitted.”

(Click here for part 2 with floor plans and more photos of the Macomb Street bungalows.)

To read more about what kind of people in DC would buy kit houses in the 1910s and 1920s, click here.