Kit House              Photo 2006 Chris Launi

Is Your House A Kit House?
By Catherine Morley (2006)
Reprinted by permission from the Bluff Heights
Neighborhood Association Newsletter

Over 100,000 kit houses were built in the United States between l908 & l940.Many people live in kit houses without knowing the historical and architectural significance of these homes.

Kit homes began in l906 with Aladdin Homes of Bay City, Michigan. In l908 Sears, Roebuck and Co entered in the market and became the largest company providing this type of construction. In the years that followed, Wardway Homes (Montgomery Ward), Harris Homes of Chicago, The Ready Built House Company and Robinson’s also got into the kit home market.
Perhaps due to their market share Sears Roebuck is the most well-known of kit home manufacturers. They produced and sold over 75,000 kit homes.
Ordering directly from a catalog entitled Book of Modern Homes and Building Plans, prospective buyers enjoyed the convenience and affordability of a prefabricated dwelling. These homes came in a wide variety of styles, designs and prices. The purchaser would receive all of the necessary
supplies in shipments by rail car.

A typical house could fit into two box cars which contained 30,000 pieces, including 750 pounds of nails, 27 gallons of paint and a 75 page instruction book.

They would be assembled by either the new homeowner or a local contractor. Sears estimated the average carpenter
would charge $450 to assemble those 30,000 pieces. Prices to purchase the homes ranged from $600 to $6,000.

How to tell if your home is a Sears Kit Home: Every piece of framing lumber was numbered at the factory for assembly at the construction site. Look for framing numbers and the Sears logo on the beams in your attic and under the house. Also, the Sears logo may be seen on doorknobs, hinges and miscellaneous hardware. Check inside built-in cabinets, cupboards and drawers for numbers as well. Look in the eaves in the attic. Sometimes building plans and the instruction book have been tucked away. Check with your
neighbors. As Sears homes were often built in groups their home may be a kit house or they may know of others in the
neighborhood. Check at the County Tax Assessors office and building records at City Hall. It is possible to locate old copies of catalogs with illustrations of designs to identify your home.

If you think your home could be a kit house more information is available on line through sources such as www.oldhouseweb com, Also, there are many books available on the subject. “ The Houses That Sears Built: Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Sears Catalog Homes” by Rosemary Thornton and “Houses By Mail” by Katherine Cole are good resources to start on your detective search adventure.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Windows—An Open and Shut Case
By: Catherine Morley
Reprinted by permission from the Bluff Heights Neighborhood Association Newsletter

When planning to remodel or restore an older home there are many issues to address.

Questions as to what to do with deteriorating wooden windows are often a major subject for discussion and decision. Whether the home is a California Bungalow, Spanish Revival, Tudor Revival, Victorian, or Neo-Traditional, the original windows are a key architectural detail and help to define its visual character.

Older homes often have many windows as they provided needed light, in the days before the extensive use of electricity. Also, window placement was designed to allow ocean breezes for natural air conditioning.  Windows in a Bungalow are an important feature rooted in the philosophy of the Arts and Crafts movement of the early twentieth century. Harmony with nature was a primary focus in Bungalow design and extensive windows brought the outdoors into the house. The predominant window styles are either double hung, many with distinctive mullion patterns or casement windows opening with on hinges on the side.

Historic Designated Neighborhoods under the ordinance of the City of Long Beach are regulated by the Secretary of the Interior’s Guidelines for Historic Properties in the State of California. These guidelines specify that the same materials as the original ones should be used for restoration when ever possible. Whenever any exterior renovation is done on a home the City of Long Beach, the Cultural Heritage Commission and/or the Preservation Officer must approve it. Replacing existing wood framed windows with picture, sliding aluminum, or vinyl windows, is not considered appropriate for historic properties. As well, enlarging or reducing openings or changing the shape of the window should be avoided. If a window has been altered with an inappropriate style and a remodel is performed, it should be restored to its original material.

A wood window does require maintenance. At best you can expect a good paint job to last 10 – 15 years. If your windows are not operable think about replacing the sash chains, lubricating the pulleys, and installing weather stripping. This can be done for approximately $120 –150 per window or less if you do it yourself. The use of vinyl windows as replacements for the original wooden ones totally changes the character of a house. Homeowners choose them because they think they are less expensive than restoring or replacing the original wood. Studies show, however, that the typical life span of a vinyl replacement window is approximately 10-15 years. In fact, investing in wood frames which suit the homes original style will last longer, increase resale value and keep the historical integrity of the home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Historic Districts- So you think you want your neighborhood to be designated “historic?”

By Maureen Neeley (2005)

Long Beach has seventeen historic districts. A description of each historical district can be found here.  Each district went through months of surveying and documentation to reach the point of historic designation. If you think your neighborhood is ready, read through this brief article, then call Jan Ostashay, Preservation Officer at 562-570-6864, for the full briefing.

First, gather a good portion of your neighbors together to be sure many are on board with this idea. Once you have a team assembled, your steps will be to:

A) Photograph each building within the district.
B) Once the photos are developed, document each property on its own data sheet. The data sheet asks for things like date of construction, original building permit/records, original owner and occupation, significant features, etc.
C) Neighborhood profile is next. What was this neighborhood like in the beginning. Why was it developed? Are there oral histories from long-time residents? What are the other features of the neighborhood (Schools? Firehouses? Transportation history?)
D) Prior to presentation of the survey to the Cultural Heritage Commission, a community meeting will be held with the Preservation Officer and volunteers to present the findings of the survey, explaining regulations and answering questions. It is optimal to have at least 2/3 owners support of the historic designation.  If community support is positive, the recommendation will be presented to the Cultural Heritage Commission, which will then propose nomination to the Planning Commission. Both are public hearings.

More information can be found on the Long Beach City's Website- http://www.ci.long-beach.ca.us/ The direct link to Long Beach City's Historic Preservation Program can be found at- http://www.ci.long-beach.ca.us/plan/pb/hpd/

Long Beach City Designated Historic Districts

BELMONT HEIGHTS 
Boundaries: Newport Avenue, Roswell Avenue, 4th Street and 7th Street.

BLUFF HEIGHTS
Boundaries: East of Junipero Avenue (not including Carroll Park or Lowena Drive historic districts), West of Redondo Avenue, south of 4th Street, and North of Broadway.

BLUFF PARK
Boundaries: Junipero Avenue, Loma Avenue, Ocean Boulevard and 2nd Street.

BRENNER PLACE
Boundaries: One block district located east of Alamitos Avenue between 7th Street and Hellman Street.

CALIFORNIA HEIGHTS
Boundaries: Wardlow Road, Bixby Road, Lime Avenue and Gardenia Avenue.

CARROLL PARK
Boundaries: Carroll Park East, Carroll Park West, Carroll Park North, Junipero Avenue and 3rd Street. 

DRAKE PARK / WILLMORE CITY
Boundaries: Loma Vista Drive, Park Court, 4th Street, Magnolia Avenue, irregular boundary to Nylic Court back to Magnolia to 7th Street.

 ELIOT LANE
Boundaries: Eliot Lane is situated between Third and Colorado, St. Joseph and Argonne in Belmont Heights.

HELLMAN STREET CRAFTSMAN
Boundaries: North side of 9th Street between Orange Avenue and Walnut Avenue; Hellman Street (from Orange Avenue to Walnut Avenue) including Toledo Walk to alley, both sides of Orange Avenue from 730 to 937; west side of Walnut Avenue between Hellman Street and 9th Street from 733 to 915 Hoffman Avenue (804-918).

LINDEN AVENUE
Boundaries: Alley north of Anaheim to 14th Street, consisting of eight properties 1324 to 1357 Linden Avenue.

LOWENA DRIVE
 Boundaries: 230, 260, 280 Junipero Avenue and 2202, 2220, 2230 Lowena Drive.

MINERVA PLACE
 Boundaries: 1045-1085 Minerva Park Place and 1724 and 1746 E. 11th Street.      

ROSE PARK
Boundaries: East side of St. Louis, the alley north of 7th Street, Coronado, and 10th Street.

ROSE PARK SOUTH
Boundaries: North side of Fourth Street, south side of 7th Street, Cherry Avenue and Coronado/Obispo Avenues; includes only residential homes facing the avenues.  

SUNRISE BOULEVARD
Boundaries: 2515-2596 Lime Avenue; 2444-2588 Olive Avenue; 638-836 Sunrise Boulevard.; 701-745 Vernon St. and 804 E. Willow Street. 

WILTON STREET
Boundaries: Wilton Street between Termino and Grand Avenues, numbers 3800 - 3926; also 1634 Grand and 1637 Termino.

WRIGLEY AREA
Boundaries: 2008-2191 Eucalyptus Avenue; 439 W. 20th Street and 417 W. 21st Street.