Do you like “quirky”? Then you’ll love this Sears House!

In the opening paragraph of the catalog page, the prosaic writers described Modern Home #124 as “a great favorite.”

It’s certainly one of my favorites - for so many different reasons!

For one, it’s very easy to identify. You’re not going to drive past this house without remembering it!

For another, in all my travels, it doesn’t have any “look-alikes.” In other words, I’ve not seen any similar designs offered by any other kit home companies (such as Aladdin, Lewis, Gordon Van Tine, Harris Brothers, Sterling, etc.), and I’ve not seen anything like #124 offered in any plan books.

And thirdly, it’s just an interesting house with some quirky (and lovable) features.

So take a look at the pictures below and tell me, have you seen this house? If so, send me a photo!

And according to the catalog, these houses have been built in Texarkana, Arkansas, Washington, DC, Greenwich, Rhode Island, Grand Rapids, Michigan,Montvale, New Jersey or Youngstown, Ohio. And if you’re in New York state, there were 124s built in Brooklyn, Dunkirk and New York city.

If you’re near those cities, I would love to see photos of our #124 today! 

To learn more about how to identify kit homes, click here.

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

*

UPDATE!  Rachel Shoemaker - the indefatigable researcher - has found another #124 in Lincolnton, GA at the corner of Humphrey and Dallas. It sure would be nice to have a photo!!  Anyone near Lincolnton?

*

To read the next fascinating blog, click here.

To learn about Sears biggest and fanciest house, click here.

*   *   *

In January 2007, my friend Dale drove from Michigan to Norfolk, Virginia to attend my wedding. While he was in the area, he drove two hours north to Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina to look for a suspected collection of Aladdin homes there.

And he hit the mother lode.

A few days after my wedding, I had an email from Dale telling me about the treasures he’d found in Roanoke Rapids. It was an amazing find. A few weeks later, I hopped in my little red Camry and drove to the area to check things out for myself. Plus, it’s a lot easier to find kit homes when someone has gone before you and made good notes of all the addresses.

Driving the streets of Roanoke Rapids, I started to drool. It was something I’d always hoped to see: A town built by Aladdin. Block after block of kit homes lined the streets. True, many of these houses were extremely modest and best described as worker cottages, but still…they were indeed kit homes sold by Aladdin in the early years of the 20th Century.

Here are a few photos of the houses we found.

To learn more about Aladdin kit homes, click here.

To read Rose’s book, click here.

*   *   *