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 available for over a decade. This Hawthorne is not to be confused with a much later Colonial Revival kit house given the same name by Sears and sold from 1931-33.
The house recently appeared on Old House Dreams and its bulky lines looked oddly familiar… a quick glance through Houses by Mail confirmed my suspicions. The house we’re about to look at was customized and varies somewhat from the published plans. The most obvious difference is the large mass built out over the porch roof. Too large to be a dormer, but not quite a full-height story, either, the space is awkwardly somewhere in-between. It might have looked better if the wrap-around pent roof had been eliminated. Let’s look around!
As marketed, the Hawthorne had a half-story with two rooms, neither of which were on the front. It looks sharp painted a dark color, presumably brown. Image source: archive.org
The floor plan reveals the numerous custom alterations which were made. Here, the colonnade was abandoned in favor of a wide pocket door and the staircase was simplified. Image source: archive.org
The living room fireplace is ornamented with pressed brick. Note the barely visible bits of stained glass flanking it. Image source: zillow.com via oldhousedreams.com
While the fireplace is not of the same tapered design shown on this catalog page, we can see that the same pressed brick shapes were used in construction of the fireplace. Image source: archive.org
Here’s a better view of the stained glass window… there are three of them in the living room. They are each a bit wider than the illustration shown in the 1912 Building Material and Millwork catalog published by Sears. Image source: zillow.com via oldhousedreams.com
The window pattern is seen in the lower left of this catalog page. Image source: archive.org
Built-in book cases are below two of the stained glass windows (washed out in this photo). Note the doorway at right… Image source: zillow.com via oldhousedreams.com
This doorway was substituted for the colonnade shown on the floor plan. Image source: zillow.com via oldhousedreams.com
And this is the pocket door used instead. Image source: archive.org
All of the architectural elements in this room are in the Sears millwork catalog… Image source: zillow.com via oldhousedreams.com
We are advised that the Craftsman China Closet and Buffet is “being installed in high priced flats and the finer class of residences”. Image source: archive.org
Quite a complex plate rail! Image source: archive.org
The center door is found in the house as well. Image source: archive.org
The front door is at right. The door to the left is likely a later alteration but may have been part of the original customized design Image source: zillow.com via oldhousedreams.com.
The front door is at right, with beveled glass. Image source: archive.org
French doors are also found in the catalog, as is the hardware, below. Image source: zillow.com via oldhousedreams.com
The Stratford design was used here, a mid-range option. Image source: archive.org
Fortunately “work” on the house stopped upstairs before the main floor was impacted. It appears that the original walls and ceilings here were made of “Peerless Wall Board”, a sandwich of fiber board and asphalt. At least no plaster was destroyed here and removal will pave the way for better installation of insulation. Image source: zillow.com via oldhousedreams.com
This material is found in many older houses, particularly in attic conversions. It tended to sag over time, and is often replaced with sheetrock. Image source: archive.org
They have all the original details inside, but I wonder how much of that will stay. I’ve never seen that fireplace before in a older Sears house, but you’re right, those decorative pieces match the catalog. Did you see that light fixture in the living room?
That giant dormer right in the front of the house. Ugh. I just can’t get past that. No way that was designed by Sears Roebuck originally.
This house is a big project… I hope someone is willing to take it on.
Sadly, in Beatrice, Nebraska, the odds of this house being understood, appreciated, respected and restored are very slim. I did notice the light fixture; I think it is an early replacement, probably from around 1930.
I just noticed that this very house is mentioned on the catalog page showing the floor plans. Sears notes four locations where the Hawthorne had been built and Beatrice is one of them!
The giant dormer is really ugly. After thinking about this house some more, I believe that it is likely the house was converted to a duplex early on… probably in the 30’s during the Depression. That would explain that second front door — it was likely cut in to add access directly to the staircase and bypass the main floor. The giant dormer was probably added at that time to make the theoretical upstairs apartment larger. I agree that Sears wouldn’t have designed something so awkward, but whoever built it did make an effort at maintaining the details of the original house. Sometimes, however, good intentions just aren’t enough!
The house is also in Piper City IL
A beautiful home that I grew up in
After my parents passed away and we sold the house sadly the new owners have not taken care of the house as well as we did
Fascinating! It’s cool to see the side-by-side of the details and hardware in-situ and the catalog pages. Great reading, and thanks for all the work to write this up!
Looking closer at the bulbous “dormer” suggests it may have been original. The windows, trim, and siding appear to match the rest of the house. I’m sure closer inspection in person would reveal clues if it were otherwise, but from the photo, it sure looks like it was part of the house (even if it doesn’t really look like it belongs there, haha)!
Awkward enclosed porches, sunrooms, three-season rooms, or sleeping porches weren’t uncommon on teens and twenties Craftsman-style homes, though, even the occasional Foursquare. I’ve yet to see one that really looks good, though.
I’m still waffling on the originality of the oversized dormer; you may be right! It would take a little exploration in that space to really figure it out. If original, this house was one of the most extensive customizations I’m aware of. There are lots of variations with the plan itself, too. The main thing that makes me think the front dormer was added later on is that the second front door (which opens directly to the staircase) appears to be an afterthought as the casing around it appears to be slightly different from that of the nearby front door (but I could be completely wrong about that, too… the photos just aren’t clear enough). The photo just above the image of door hardware shows this door at the left with the stairs to the right. French doors at either side lead to the living room and the other front room (shown as bed room on the plan). Maybe some day we’ll find out for sure, but until then it is fun to speculate about!
That’s a good point; I hadn’t looked at the front door detail.
One of the houses across the street from our old place was a ~1913 1.5 story bungalow that had been converted to a 2-flat later, presumably the 1930s or 40s. They extended the front wall next to the original front door to create a small vestibule for a second entrance into the stairs for the 2nd-floor apartment. The trim work, and even 3″ bevel-lap siding was matched pretty closely to the original construction. It was an obvious later addition (some original siding remained visible inside the new vestible), but they clearly made an effort to match things.
I am the Listing Agent. Any interest in buying this place and fixing it up? Interesting comments. I did find 1914 newspapers in the upstairs eaves. There was an apt upstairs. The plumbing is up there, but no fixtures.
If I lived anywhere near Beatrice I would definitely be interested — especially considering the low asking price! Hopefully someone already in the community will appreciate the architectural and historic significance of this house and see its great potential. It has a great location adjacent to downtown Beatrice; I wish you the best in finding a buyer who can respectfully harness these assets. If you are able to keep us posted about the future buyer’s intentions we would be interested in reading about them. Thanks for the update!
I am going to be the person bringing this home back to life, can you please give me any opinions on how to go about doing this? My email is fogish79@gmail.com please put 700 market St o i know it’s about the house
Thanks for the update! The exterior looks a lot better now… the current owner(s) clearly did a lot of work. I’m guessing that at the current price there is more work to be done, but it’s off to a good start. Good luck to you if you decide to make an offer on it!
They have all the original details inside, but I wonder how much of that will stay. I’ve never seen that fireplace before in a older Sears house, but you’re right, those decorative pieces match the catalog. Did you see that light fixture in the living room?
That giant dormer right in the front of the house. Ugh. I just can’t get past that. No way that was designed by Sears Roebuck originally.
This house is a big project… I hope someone is willing to take it on.
Sadly, in Beatrice, Nebraska, the odds of this house being understood, appreciated, respected and restored are very slim. I did notice the light fixture; I think it is an early replacement, probably from around 1930.
I just noticed that this very house is mentioned on the catalog page showing the floor plans. Sears notes four locations where the Hawthorne had been built and Beatrice is one of them!
The giant dormer is really ugly. After thinking about this house some more, I believe that it is likely the house was converted to a duplex early on… probably in the 30’s during the Depression. That would explain that second front door — it was likely cut in to add access directly to the staircase and bypass the main floor. The giant dormer was probably added at that time to make the theoretical upstairs apartment larger. I agree that Sears wouldn’t have designed something so awkward, but whoever built it did make an effort at maintaining the details of the original house. Sometimes, however, good intentions just aren’t enough!
The house is also in Piper City IL
A beautiful home that I grew up in
After my parents passed away and we sold the house sadly the new owners have not taken care of the house as well as we did
Fascinating! It’s cool to see the side-by-side of the details and hardware in-situ and the catalog pages. Great reading, and thanks for all the work to write this up!
Looking closer at the bulbous “dormer” suggests it may have been original. The windows, trim, and siding appear to match the rest of the house. I’m sure closer inspection in person would reveal clues if it were otherwise, but from the photo, it sure looks like it was part of the house (even if it doesn’t really look like it belongs there, haha)!
Awkward enclosed porches, sunrooms, three-season rooms, or sleeping porches weren’t uncommon on teens and twenties Craftsman-style homes, though, even the occasional Foursquare. I’ve yet to see one that really looks good, though.
I’m still waffling on the originality of the oversized dormer; you may be right! It would take a little exploration in that space to really figure it out. If original, this house was one of the most extensive customizations I’m aware of. There are lots of variations with the plan itself, too. The main thing that makes me think the front dormer was added later on is that the second front door (which opens directly to the staircase) appears to be an afterthought as the casing around it appears to be slightly different from that of the nearby front door (but I could be completely wrong about that, too… the photos just aren’t clear enough). The photo just above the image of door hardware shows this door at the left with the stairs to the right. French doors at either side lead to the living room and the other front room (shown as bed room on the plan). Maybe some day we’ll find out for sure, but until then it is fun to speculate about!
That’s a good point; I hadn’t looked at the front door detail.
One of the houses across the street from our old place was a ~1913 1.5 story bungalow that had been converted to a 2-flat later, presumably the 1930s or 40s. They extended the front wall next to the original front door to create a small vestibule for a second entrance into the stairs for the 2nd-floor apartment. The trim work, and even 3″ bevel-lap siding was matched pretty closely to the original construction. It was an obvious later addition (some original siding remained visible inside the new vestible), but they clearly made an effort to match things.
I am the Listing Agent. Any interest in buying this place and fixing it up? Interesting comments. I did find 1914 newspapers in the upstairs eaves. There was an apt upstairs. The plumbing is up there, but no fixtures.
If I lived anywhere near Beatrice I would definitely be interested — especially considering the low asking price! Hopefully someone already in the community will appreciate the architectural and historic significance of this house and see its great potential. It has a great location adjacent to downtown Beatrice; I wish you the best in finding a buyer who can respectfully harness these assets. If you are able to keep us posted about the future buyer’s intentions we would be interested in reading about them. Thanks for the update!
I am going to be the person bringing this home back to life, can you please give me any opinions on how to go about doing this? My email is fogish79@gmail.com please put 700 market St o i know it’s about the house
Congratulations John! Thanks for tackling this interesting piece of history! I’ll be emailing you with some thoughts later (much later) today.
Hello all,
The House is now up for sale again, my wife and I are considering a purchase for this. The correct address is 700 Elk Street, Beatrice Nebraska
Thanks for the update! The exterior looks a lot better now… the current owner(s) clearly did a lot of work. I’m guessing that at the current price there is more work to be done, but it’s off to a good start. Good luck to you if you decide to make an offer on it!
https://www.zillow.com/homes/700-Elk-Street,-Beatrice-Nebraska_rb/232529052_zpid/