Saturday, April 9, 2016

Same Name, Different House Part 2 - From Aurora to the Elmwood

Carrying on with Same Name, Different House topic we find that some of the houses that share a name also share either a number, a floor plan or had some changes to their floor plans through the years.

We start with the Aurora .
The earlier version was only offered in 1918 and although there was another house with the same style offered that year it didn't share a floor plan or a number.


Sears Aurora 1918

15 years later Sears decided to change the name of  the Sears Hartford that they brought out in 1931 and 1932  and in 1933 they renamed it the Sears Aurora. Both of these houses had 2 different floor plans which had a slightly different window arrangement and house length. Plan A had s shared living and dining room while Plan B split them with a cased opening. Plan B had an extra single window in the kitchen while Plan A only had 2 double windows on that side.


 Sears Aurora 1933


Sears Hartford 1931-32


In 1914 through 1921 Sears offered the 1 story cross gabled Sears Belmont. 

Sears Belmont 1914-1921

10 years later in 1931 through 1933 they used the Belmont for a projected gable house which was the brick version of the Sears Lynnhaven which was offered from 1932 through 1938.

Sears Belmont 1931-1933


Sears Lynnhaven 1932-1938


 On to the Sears Clyde first offered in 1908 until 1918 in its first incarnation it was a beautiful hipped roof style house..

Sears Clyde 1908-1918

After a 1 year hiatus Sears brought the name back in 1920 through 1929. This single story gabled roof house started with your choice of no bathroom(7030) or with a bathroom(9030). Later the no bathroom version was discontinued and a 4 foot wider version(9030B) took its place. The wider Clyde also added a few more windows on the sides and the front. Around 1925 they only offered the 9030A version but it's also on the catalog page with the 9030B so I mixed those years together.

Sears Clyde 1920-1923?

Sears Clyde 1924?-1929


Next we have the Sears Concord. From 1908 to 1923 the name was used for a nice 2 story hipped roof house.

Sears Concord 1908-1923

10 Years later Sears offered a trio of houses similar in design and floor plans. From 1933 to 1940 the Concord name was used on a split level house and part of the trio. Also part were the Homestead from 1933 to 1940 and the Oldtown only in 1933.

Sears Concord 1933-1940

Sears Homestead 1933-1940

Sears Oldtown 1933
This is one of a few houses I still have never found a floor plan for but HBM says it's a reversed floor plan of the Concord.


Lastly for this edition we have the Sears Elmwood
It was offered from 1911 until 1921. The first 2 years it had the plan number 162 Which had yellow pine floors and from 1913 until 1917 it offered oak floors under plan number 153. In the next 4 years the plan numbers changed twice from 3013 to 3068 for yellow pine and 3014 to 3069 for oak.


Sears Elmwood 1911-1921

In 1922 until 1927 the same floor plan with the sleeping porch screened in was renamed the Sunbeam.

Sears Sunbeam 1922-1927

And from 1909 until 1911 before the Elmwood used the number 153 there was another house that had that number.

Sears No 153 1909-1911


And until recently this house was not known of but thanks to Lauren Russell the Sears Elmwood of 1926 

 Sears Elmwood 1926


More to come so stay tuned!

Pics used in this post were borrowed from Rose Thornton, Lauren Russell or Sears Modern Homes catalogs.









Friday, April 1, 2016

Same Name, Different House Part 1 - Auburn, Auburn, Auburn!

Well to start the new topic of houses with the same names but different floor plans and styles we have Sears most overused house name.

The Auburn

Even before they had names from 1911 to 1916 Sears offered the No 176 which had a slightly different floor plan and appearance in 1916. In 1917 through 1924  they reversed the floor plan and named it The Auburn. Both were two story hipped roof houses which were more commonly known as four-squares.

1911-1915---No 176---1916
1917-1924 Sears Auburn


In 1925 Sears decided to reuse the name but this time on a side gabled, two story, single dormer house. This house morphed into a different house in 1926 called The Albany.

 1925 Sears Auburn

1926 Sears Albany

And finally again in 1933 through 1938 Sears brought out a cross gabled split level house by the same name. Also through the same years Sears offered nearly the same floor plan swapping the rec room for a garage in the Sears Chester.

1933-1938 Sears Auburn
& Sears Chester

While that all sounds a bit confusing these houses are only a few that shared names, number, floor plans or mixes of them. More on the way so stay tuned. 



Pictures from my Pinterest boards saved from Rachel Shoemaker, Rosemary Thornton, Lauren Russell and some Sears Modern Home catalogs.

Monday, March 21, 2016

Not in Houses by Mail Pt 2 -- 1918-1940 -- They got names now

There was only half a dozen homes that I've found after 1918 when the houses started getting names. 

First off in 1920 we have the Sears Cinderella

Similar to the 1920's Oakdale bungalow. The exterior is close to the same with a slightly rearranged floor plan.

Sears Oakdale

Secondly 1921 gave us the Sears Harper. This house was a successor to the Sears Harmony that was offered the year before. Only difference is the absence of dormers.

 Sears Harper 

Sears Harmony

The 3rd house which was just found recently is the 1926 Sears Elmwood which is totally different style house than the earlier Elmwood.

Sears Elmwood 1926

The 4th house from 1929 was the Sears Parkridge. This house has the same floor plan as the Berwyn/Mayfield/Galewood house with a different entry.

Parkridge 1929

The 5th house from 1930 is the Sears Pendleton which is a brick veneer version of the Sears Sheffield

Sears Pendleton

Sears Sheffield

And 1930 also gave us a  Standard Built home with a different name but same floor plan as the non clipped gabled Rodessa.

The Sears Monticello the Standard Built version of the Honor Built Rodessa


If you find anymore houses that HBM missed please let me know.

The 1926 Elmwood picture is from Daily Bungalow and the Monticello is from a catalog found by Andrew Mutch. All photos can be found on my Pinterest boards with proper credit.



Not in Houses by Mail Pt 1 - 1908-1917 The numbered years

Sears started selling modern homes in 1908 and offered a few that year that didn't stick around long. The numbers were re-used but a different house offered. The authors of Houses by Mail had access to a large amount of catalogs but not all. Here is a collection of houses starting with the earliest that HBM didn't have access to. 

Let's start with the Sears No 108 from 1908 through 1913. HBM listed some of the dates under the Sears Saratoga but until 1914 it was a different house.


Between the years 1908-1913 it went from having a bump out in the parlor to just a plain square living room.


Next we have the Sears No 120  which showed back up in 1909 through 1917 as a different house.

 1908

1909-1917

Next we have the Sears 128 which showed back up in 1911 through 1914. The 1912 reprint has it as the No 241 as does HBM.

1908

1911-1914

Next we have the Sears No 138 which showed back up in 1911 through 1914 although not found in 1912.

1908

1911-1914

Next we have the Sears No 158 which started in 1909 through 1913 but got a face lift in 1914. Floor plans were only slightly modified.

 1909-1913

1914

Next we have the 264P165 which started in 1909 through 1913 with a face lift in 1914. Floor plans stayed the same but it lost 3 fireplaces.

1909-1913

1914

Next we have the Sears No 184 which was only offered in 1914.

1914

Next we have the 264P232 which has the same floor plan as the 264P233 but with a porch roof instead of pergolas.

1914

Next we have the Sears No 235

1914

Next we have the 264P238

1914 

And the last house which appeared in 1909 the Sears No 303

1909

Lastly Sears had a floor plan for a schoolhouse by only in 1908.

1908 Schoolhouse 500

Please let me know if you have any houses to add to this list.

All images found on my Pinterest boards.
Most borrowed from Rachel Shoemaker, Rosemary Thornton, Vintage Literature catalogs on disk or from the 1913 reprint.