Craftsman Bungalow Nirvana: The Captivating Designs of Jud Yoho
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 name. Sadly,...
A Customized Version of Radford’s Design No. 1509
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 years and was quite...
R. W. Shoppell’s Shingle Style Design No. 580
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 York were...
A 1970’s BH&G Plan Book House
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!
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
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...
Radford Design No. 1131
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...
A Wardway “Hampden” with its Orginal Color Scheme!
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 like those that...
Off the Beaten Path in Abilene, Kansas
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 known,...
Design Nos. 216 and 344 by Robert W. Shoppell
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...
An Altered J-16 by the Harris Brothers Company
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 -...
A Knock-Off of the Harris Brothers Home No. M-1000
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 catalog of homes....
The Chicago House Wrecking Company’s House Design No. 160
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 Wrecking later began...
Inside a Sears Maytown – a.k.a. Modern Home No. 167
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 was immensely...
A Plan Book Rip-Off of the Sears Rodessa
Recently I discovered a plan book of houses published by C. L. Bowes of Hinsdale, Illinois, which was copyrighted in 1926. Within its pages was a dead-ringer for the "Rodessa" by Sears. Marketed with the nondescript name of Design 14155-A, this copy-cat design...
Radford’s Design No. 1509
Design No. 1509 was a popular plan for the Radford Architectural Company of Chicago judging by the number of surviving examples I've seen. The most recent I've found is surprisingly intact and appears to be loved by its owners. While this one in Oakley, Kansas, was...
The Cabot by Gordon-Van Tine
I ran across this house yesterday... it appears to be a Gordon-Van Tine product, but I'm not exactly sure which of the many variations of this design it is. I think it is the Cabot "A" model. There is one clue above the door that makes me confident that this is a...
A Sears Langston – A Century Later…
This Sears Langston caught my eye while searching for an entirely different house on Zillow. The distinctive and memorable porch posts remain to proclaim their Sears heritage despite a rather clumsy addition on the side of the house. Images from the 1918 Sears...
Radford’s Design No. 1517
Of the hundreds of house plans offered by the William A. Radford Company of Chicago, their design number 1517 appears to have been one of their most popular - at least in the nation's mid-section. Numerous examples of this house survive today. The design was so...
A Sears Osborn Look-Alike
I recently ran across this house on Zillow. It looks a lot like a kit house sold by Sears called the Osborn. The house was offered from 1916 to 1929 and seems to have been a popular model for them. I'm not sure if the house below is an Osborn, but if not it was...
Radford’s Prairie House Plans
The William A. Radford Company of Chicago was one of the most recognized names in the plans-by-mail business in the early 20th century. Homes built from their plans can still be found in surprising numbers throughout the country. While perusing their Portfolio of...
Architectural Integrity and the Lustron
A building which retains its architectural integrity is one which has been maintained as it was built and intended to be. When buildings are altered through remodeling or the installation of "maintenance -free" windows or siding, integrity is compromised. Such...
The “Rodessa” by Sears?
I recently ran across a house in McDonald, Kansas, which looked oddly familiar. Pretty sure I'd seen this facade before... maybe a Sears kit house? So I took a photo. After some digging, I found what I was looking for. To me, the house at first appeared to be an...
Restored Balustrades on a Sears Westly
The "Westly", a popular kit house by Sears, was offered throughout the 'teens and 1920's. Its overtly Craftsman porch supports and balustrade make it memorable and easily recognizable. The following Westly, built in Holdrege, Nebraska, had lost its original...
The Backside of the J-6!
Last weekend I happened by a J-6 house by the Harris Brothers and it occurred to me that we previously had only see the front and side of the house in period material and contemporary photos. What does the back of one of these look like? Will the back match the...
An Interesting Craftsman Bungalow
This house captured my attention for several reasons. First, it bears a striking resemblance (in reverse) to the Aladdin "Plaza" and Harris Homes' plan No. N-1026. Secondly, its elaborate mortise-and-tenon porch supports are both fun and chamfered. The balustrade...
The Evolution of the Winona by Sears
There are numerous frustrating obstacles to those who research houses with kit or plan book origins. One is that on occasion the various competitors would not only rename or renumber their assorted offerings over the years, but redesign the floor plans as well. And...
Frederick L. Ackerman’s Plan No. 198
I've been fascinated by house plan books and catalogs for as long as I can remember and "The Books of a Thousand Homes" is particularly riveting. Published in 1923 by an entity calling itself The Home Owners Service Institute, the book contained five hundred house...
Harris Home No. N-1026, “The Plaza” by Aladdin or ???
A 1923 Harris Brothers Company catalog includes an attractive Craftsman style house with a rather lackluster name: No. N-1026. The house was offered with clapboard or shingled siding, and a reversed floor plan as an option. The Aladdin Company sold a nearly...
Brilliant Compromise: Harris Brothers’ Popular J-6
More than a century has passed since the Harris Brothers Company first offered a kit house which today is both admired and disparaged. Known variously over the years as Design No. 6, No. K-2013, and No. J-6, the kit house had a facade which continues to evoke a...
A Garlinghouse Dutch Colonial
For well over a century, the Garlinghouse Company has been publishing house plans. While I'm especially partial to their mid-20th century designs, the older ones also have merit. Below is plan number 1067 from the 1920's... the house shown in the second photo was...
Altered Examples of the Mayflower / Mount Vernon / Cabot / Stratford
Recently I spotted two more examples of a popular mail order house by the Gordon-Van Tine Company and also marketed through Montgomery Ward. Called the "Cabot" and "Stratford" in different years by Gordon-Van Tine and the "Mayflower" or "Mount Vernon" by Montgomery...