by Architectural Observer | Feb 28, 2019 | Blog, Mail Order and Kit Houses, Uncategorized
One of hundreds of house designs published by the Radford Architectural Company of Chicago in the early twentieth century, Design No. 1131 is an eclectic composition in that it combines Colonial Revival, Queen Anne and Shingle style influences. This example in...
by Architectural Observer | Jan 28, 2019 | Blog, Mail Order and Kit Houses
I first admired this house in the late 1990’s when the photo above was taken; the house seemed well-maintained and the exterior paint was crisp and sharp… the colors were perfect for a two-story Craftsman. I wondered at the time if the colors weren’t...
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...
