by Architectural Observer | Dec 23, 2018 | Blog, Mail Order and Kit Houses, Observations
While Abilene, Kansas, has long been noted for its many fine Victorian-era houses and colorful early cow-town history, not much (if any) attention has been given to the plan book and manufactured kit origins of some of the town’s houses. The town is primarily...
by Architectural Observer | Dec 23, 2018 | Blog, Mail Order and Kit Houses
Robert W. Shoppell was one of many successful plan book publishers in the late nineteenth century. Surviving houses built from the mail-order plans he sold through his New York-based Co-operative Building Plan Association can be found throughout the country. In...
by Architectural Observer | Dec 4, 2018 | Blog, Mail Order and Kit Houses
In addition to its popular J-6 kit house, the Harris Brothers Company of Chicago offered a slightly larger version which it called the J-16. This upgraded version was two feet wider and two feet longer. I recently ran across this example of the house on Zillow...
by Architectural Observer | Oct 28, 2018 | Blog, Mail Order and Kit Houses
Marketed as a “model bungalow of the California type,” house plan No. 1000 was a big seller for the Harris Brothers Company of Chicago. Its popularity is evidenced by the fact that the façade graced the cover of the kit house manufacturer’s 1918...
by Architectural Observer | Jul 18, 2018 | Blog, Mail Order and Kit Houses
It’s no wonder that the Chicago House Wrecking Company changed its name to “Harris Brothers” after it started selling kit houses; the name just doesn’t conjure up a sense of permanence! Beginning as a salvage operation in 1893, Chicago House...
by Architectural Observer | Jul 6, 2018 | Blog, Mail Order and Kit Houses
Recently I ran across this example of a Sears “Maytown” on Zillow. Currently on the market at 410 D Street in Central City, Nebraska, the house is easily recognized by its signature corner turret. First marketed as Sears Modern Home No. 167, the design...
