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Craftsman Bungalow Nirvana:  The Captivating Designs of Jud Yoho

Craftsman Bungalow Nirvana: The Captivating Designs of Jud Yoho

by Architectural Observer | Dec 11, 2020 | Blog, Mail Order and Kit Houses, Observations

If the old saying “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” is true, then Jud Yoho should have been mighty flattered! Anyone who has spent any time poking around search engines looking for information on Craftsman bungalows has likely run across his...
A Customized Version of Radford’s Design No. 1509

A Customized Version of Radford’s Design No. 1509

by Architectural Observer | Dec 3, 2020 | Blog, Mail Order and Kit Houses

Among the first offerings by the Radford Architectural Company, Design No. 509 appeared in the company’s debut publication, “The Radford American homes : 100 house plans”, in 1903. Later marketed as Design No. 1509, the design was offered for many...
R. W. Shoppell’s Shingle Style Design No. 580

R. W. Shoppell’s Shingle Style Design No. 580

by Architectural Observer | Feb 24, 2020 | Blog, Mail Order and Kit Houses

Appearing in the 1886 edition of Shoppell’s Modern Houses, Design No. 580 is a massive house with a central stair hall and wide, asymmetrical, façade. While many of the plans offered by Robert W. Shoppell’s Co-Operative Building Plan Association of New...
A 1970’s BH&G Plan Book House

A 1970’s BH&G Plan Book House

by Architectural Observer | Jun 23, 2019 | Blog, Mail Order and Kit Houses

Print media, while not as influential as it was in decades past, remains a popular platform for the sale of house plans. When readers of Better Homes and Gardens magazine selected House Plan No. 3709-A as their favorite of those presented by the magazine in 1972, the...
A Sears Maytown – Largely Intact!

A Sears Maytown – Largely Intact!

by Architectural Observer | Apr 22, 2019 | Blog, Mail Order and Kit Houses

After a century of use, many old houses have been updated, remodeled or otherwise altered to the extent that they are scarcely recognizable. Others, like this Sears Maytown in Struthers, Ohio, are able to transcend time with only slight changes. Owner Dawn Hartzell...
A Customized Sears Hawthorne

A Customized Sears Hawthorne

by Architectural Observer | Mar 2, 2019 | Blog, Mail Order and Kit Houses

Offered between 1913 and 1918, the Sears Hawthorne was a somewhat ungainly-looking Craftsman style bungalow which was not a huge seller. It was essentially the one-and-a-half story version of the Sears Avondale which was far more popular with kit house buyers and...
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