2024-12-26T02:54:04-05:00 https://archinect.com/news/article/149945813/tracking-down-sears-catalog-homes Alexander Walter 2016-05-17T15:45:00-04:00 >2021-12-26T19:37:34-05:00 <img src="https://archinect.gumlet.io/uploads/dg/dga4nw2ancve4h9c.jpg?fit=crop&auto=compress%2Cformat&enlarge=true&w=1200" border="0" /><em><p>Not long ago, the&nbsp;Sears, Roebuck and Co. mail-order catalog&nbsp;was the ultimate marketplace, much like Amazon is today. You could even buy a house straight from the catalog. Just pick out the home you like, and voila, Sears would deliver it just for you. [...] From 1908 to 1940, Sears sold between 70,000 to 75,000 homes, so there are plenty out there, you just need to know where to look.</p></em><br /><br /><p><img title="" alt="" src="http://cdn.archinect.net/images/650x/pi/pimh2s8d3smhasg9.jpg"></p><p>&uarr;&nbsp;This photo shows a Sears "Magnolia" kit house in Benson, North Carolina. (Photo:&nbsp;Rosemary Thornton; image via Wikipedia)</p><p>"Sears Modern Homes offered the latest technology available to house buyers in the early part of the twentieth century. Central heating, indoor plumbing, and electricity were all new developments in house design that "Modern Homes" incorporated, although not all of the houses were designed with these conveniences. Primarily shipped via railroad boxcars, these kits included most of the materials needed to build a house. Once delivered, many of these houses were assembled by the new homeowner, relatives, friends and neighbors, in a fashion similar to the traditional barn-raisings of farming families." (via the&nbsp;Sears Catalog Home <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sears_Catalog_Home" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Wikipedia page</a>)</p><p>Related stories in the Archinect news:</p><ul><li><a href="http://archinect.com/news/article/112805150/muji-s-prefab-vertical-house-now-available-for-japanese-residences" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Muji's prefab Vertical House now available for Japanese residences</a></li><li><a href="http://archinect.com/news/article/141782005/regarding-the-remarkable-range-of-prefab-self-built-movable-and-vernacular-dwellings" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Regarding the remarkable range of prefab, self-built, movable, and vernacular dwellings</a></li><li><a href="http://archinect.com/news/article/118824259/the-vipp-shelter-joins-the-industrial-chic-prefab-housing-market" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The VIPP Shelter joins the industr...</a></li></ul>