The Sears Homes of Hampton Roads
For years and years, I lived in the St. Louis area and that’s where I wrote my books on Sears Homes (and where I did all the research). In 2006, I moved back “home” to Hampton Roads (where I was born and raised), and it was pure fun to spend my spare time hunting for Sears Homes.
Here are a few of the houses that I found. BTW, if you find this interesting, please spread the word about this impressive collection in Hampton Roads and email this link.
And if you think you know the location of a Sears Home, please send me a note at thorntonrose@hotmail.com.
These are just a few of the kit homes I’ve found in the area. Heretofore, I’ve found 52 in Portsmouth, 75 in Norfolk and about 15 in Chesapeake.
To see another article about Sears Homes (with many pics) click here.
To read another article by Rosemary Thornton, click here.
Sears Westly
Sears Westly in Portsmouth on King Street. Photo was taken in 2004.
Sears Westly in Suffolk, Virginia
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Sears Crescent
Sears Crescent in Larchmont section of Norfolk
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Aladdin Kit Homes (a competitor of Sears) was very popular in Hampton Roads, probably because they had a massive mill in Greensboro, NC and shipping charges would have been affordable. Sears sold about 70,000 homes during their 32 years in the kit home business (1908-1940). However, Aladdin started in 1906 and went to 1981, selling about 75,000 houses.
This Aladdin Colonial pictured below is in Suffolk. For years and years, people believed the house pictured below was a "Sears kit home." This is not uncommon. This house (below) *is* a kit home, but it came from Aladdin, not Sears.
Aladdin - another kit home company - offered the Aladdin Colonial. This one is in Suffolk.
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This is a kit home from Gordon Van Tine, a competitor of Sears in the kit home business.
Here's a Gordon Van Tine in the Ocean View area of Norfolk - and in perfect condition!
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Aladdin was very popular in the Hampton Roads area. Here's an Aladdin Venus. Note the casement windows.
This Aladdin Venus still has its original casement windows. It's in Colonial Place (Norfolk).
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The Beckley (from Sears)
This is The Beckley, which is in use as the Sextant's Office at a large cemetery in Newport News.
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I've also found several homes from Gordon Van Tine in Hampton Roads.
This pretty little #594 sits on a large parcel of land in Chesapeake's Deep Creek area.
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And this is a Sears Americus, which was a very popular house for Sears.
This Sears Americus is in Park Place on 27th Street (Norfolk). Sadly, it's been turned into a duplex.
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Sears Whitehall from the 1928 Sears Modern Homes catalog
Sears Whitehall just off Colley Avenue and 28th Street in Norfolk
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Aladdin kit home: The Virginia
Aladdin Kit Home - The Virginia - in Norfolk's Colonial Place
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Aladdin Kit Home: The Pasadena
Here it is, right in Norfolk's Lafayette/Winona neighborhood
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As mentioned, Norfolk is full of Aladdins and here's the Aladdin Edison
An Aladdin Edison in Norfolk, within a few yards of the ODU campus.
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Aladdin Detroit
A perfect Aladdin Detroit in Chesapeake
I have been studying kit homes for a while and have located several in our community.
One site has a house, a garage, two sheds, and possibly a barn. Owned by Joe Origer, who you quoted in one of your books.
Do you ever get into northwestern Indiana?
fkz
Hey, I found the Wardway #101! You were too busy looking at some bungalow on your side of street and I had to keep saying “Rose….. ummmm Rose ….. hey Rose, you might want to look at my side of the road ….. no i don’t regonize that bungalow your looking at but look at this …….”
This comment was originally posted on Comments for Ugly Womans Guide to Internet Dating
Very cool! I hoped to get down to Atlanta proper over the weekend to check out what I suspect is an “Atlanta” about a block from the Sears building on Ponce de Leon Ave, but didn’t make it down there. I still plan to go, though. BTW in my copy of Houses By Mail the Atlanta and #131 are swapped - floor plan of one under the picture of the other. (pgs 338 and 339).
This comment was originally posted on Comments for Ugly Womans Guide to Internet Dating