Sears Kit Homes in Chicagoland-- Part 1: The Legacy

From the December 2, 2019, Chicago Tribune "Cataloging History" by Darcel Rocket.

"Once upon a time, you could purchase a home for less than $5,000.  The Barrington. The Lexington.  The Sheridan.  The Hazleton.  The Malden."

Sears, Roebuck and Co., well, Sears, sold thousands of mail-order kit houses from the early 1900s to 1942.  All you had to do was pick the model you wanted from the catalog and as long as you had the money and rail connections, you were good to go.

Joe and Mary Beth Turek have a Barrington kit home in Downers Grove, which back then cost $2,606 and came with everything from trim, windows, millwork and flooring and some 30,000.  Some assembly required.  Actually, lots of assembly.  You could either build it yourself or hire someone to do it.

The Hoffman Estates-based company has filed for bankruptcy and its days, sadly, are numbered.  But many of their kit homes still stand.

Probably the Legacy of Sears.  --Cooter

Chicago World's Fair's "House of Tomorrow" Still Stands-- Part 2

There are four other houses from the 1933-34 Chicago World's Fair in the Beverly Shores area:  the Florida Tropical House, which has a flamingo peak exterior; the Cypress Log Cabin which, of course is woodsy; the Armco-Ferro House with its glistening steel facade and the Art Deco Wieboldt-Rostone House.

By barge and truck, Chicago developer Robert Bartlett brought the Century of Progress houses to Beverly Shores to promote his plan to turn the area into a vacation destination.  But that dream died with the economic hardships of the Great Depression.

The houses all deteriorated until the early 2000s when the Indiana Landmarks began leasing them from the National Park Service, which controls the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore.

Always Great To have Preservation.  --Cooter

Rosa Parks House Alive and Well in Berlin

From the April 13, 2017, Chicago Tribune by Stephanie Kirchner, Washington Post.

And, that is Berlin, as in Germany.  Definitely one of the last places I'd expect to find her house.

"To save the house of civil rights icon Rosa Parks from the wrecking ball, American artist Ryan M

Mendoza shipped it half way across the world.  Now it's on display in the German capital.  When he learned the house she lived in during the late 1950s was to be demolished by Detroit as part of its anti-blight campaign, he launched a rescue plan.

A team of local volunteers took the house apart piece by piece and re-erected it in Berlin a few weeks later.

Between 1957 and 1959, the house was Rosa Parks' temporary shelter from after her refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger.

Well-Worth Saving.

DeKalb County in 1915 and 1940: Building the Modern Home and Gila Monsters

From the July 29, 2015, MidWeek "Looking Back."

July 1915. 100 years ago:

Art Driscoll is having a new modern home built in the Decatur Driscoll homestead, across the road from the old home.  Chas. Louchs has secured the contract for installing a lighting system in the house and barn.

July 1940, 75 years ago:

Mrs. Harvey Ide found a gila monster in her basement Sunday afternoon.

Mounds of dirt have been piled around the NIU Lagoon because of the dredging of it.

You Have to Wonder How a Gila Monster Got In Her Basement.  --Cooter

Al Capone's Old House-- Part 3

Barbara Hogsette, current owner raised a son in the first floor apartment and rents out the second floor.  She originally listed it in 2008 for $450,000 and thinks the house is a good investment, though few remnants from Capone are still there.

The gold-leaf cornices which Capone imported from Italy are there, but not the 7-foot European tubs because parts to fix them couldn't be found.

However, the original garage still stands, one of the largest in the neighborhood, where Capone kept his big, fancy cars.

Every spring and summer, Hogsette says she gets a steady stream of people riding by to take a look.

--Maybe a Mob Museum?  --Cooter

Al Capone's Old House-- Part 2

By Dahleen Glanton.

The brick two-flat at 7244 S. Prairie Avenue in Chicago's Park Manor neighborhood hasn't sold in 831 days, despite a drop in asking price from $300,000 to $225,000.  It now houses two apartments.  There are some fears that it might be torn down, but not too likely.

There is also a movement on to have it given landmark status.

The Capones bought it for $5,500 in August 1923.  They were among the wave of first- and second-generation immigrants who moved to this South Side neighborhood during Prohibition.  Historians say the home at 72nd Street and Prairie Avenue was his safe haven.  His mother, Teresa, and his wife, Mae, signed the original deed.

According to a December 1927 Chicago Tribune story, Capone once holed up in the house after police threatened to arrest him if he stepped outside.

Capone went to prison in 1931 and had moved to a home in Florida by the time of his death in 1947, but his mother continued to live in the house until she died in 1952.

A Piece of Chicago History.  --DaCoot

Now, You Can Buy Al Capone's House-- Part 1

From the October 29, 2014, Chicago Tribune"A humble home, owned by Capone.

"It's yours for $225,000.  The former home of Chicago crime boss Al Capone is for sale, but has languished on the market for 831 days without a nibble.  The Capones bought the building for $5,500 in August 1923.

"The brick two-flat is now owned by 77-year-old Barbara Hogsette, a retired teacher who bought the building in 1963 and still lives there.  She thinks the house is a good investment, but says there aren't many remnants of the notorious gangster left after several renovations."

Like, Bang, Bang. Shoot 'Em Up!!  --Cooter

The Mysterious 29: Did Frank Lloyd Wright Build Them?

From the July 6, 2008, Chicago Tribune by Blair Kamin, Tribune Critic.

There are 29 houses in the Chicago suburbs whose architect may or may not have been Frank Lloyd Wright. There are one each in Glen Ellyn and Wilmette, two in Berwyn (as Svenghoolie would say, "BERWY!!") and 25 in River Forest (including 24 of the 26 houses in the 700 block of William Street). Imagine a F.L. Wright subdision.

The problem is that there is little documentation. As such, the team exploring it looks for Wright's "artistic signature," like a meandering route to a front door.

Of course, these homes could have been designed by Wright-influenced architects or even ones working for him.

To Wright or Not To Wright. That Sure Would Be Neat to Find Out You Were Living In a Frank Lloyd Wright House. --Cooter