Hooked on Houses

Hey, everybody! I’m back after spending eight days in the Washington, D.C. area. It was a great trip but, as my daughter Lily said, “It’s good to be home again.”

We took a trolley tour through Georgetown this week because I had to see all the old townhouses there. And of course I elbowed my way into a window seat and snapped pictures as fast as I could. I knew you’d want to see them, too.

Our trolley tour guide called himself “Super Dave” (not to be confused with my Super Dave). He was full of interesting stories and information about the neighborhood. He said the area attracts lots of high-ranking government officials and news-anchor types. I kept hoping to see someone famous walking down the street, but never did. This house, according to Super Dave, was once the home of Henry Kissinger.

Now, keep in mind that I was on a bumpy, narrow street in a trolley as I took these pictures, and the traffic was crazy (cars and buses kept getting in my shots). But I think I got some good ones anyway. Take a look:

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The Ashmore–the “Aristocrat of Bungalows”–was one of the Sears Honor-Bilt Homes sold through the catalog between 1916 and 1922 for between $1,648 to $3,632. It’s considered one of the rarer models. Rosemary Thornton, who’s a well-known expert on Sears Kit Homes, has been able to identify only three still existing in the United States. (For more information about these homes in general, read my earlier post on the topic here.)

The Convenient Old House followed the remodel of one that was built in the Bryn Mawr neighborhood of Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1917. For a bungalow of that era, the model is fairly large, with 6 bedrooms and a living room 23 feet long.

At the time, the kitchen was considered modern and, according to the catalog, “arranged to save unnecessary steps, planned with every thought for the minimizing of labor, with every care for convenience with the idea of intensive housekeeping always in mind. Everything has been placed within easy reach for the work at hand.”

But the kitchen’s layout would be considered cramped and difficult to work in by today’s standards, with less than six and a half feet of counter space and minimal cabinet storage. The “breakfast alcove” was only big enough to seat two. The kitchen was remodeled in the early 1990s by enclosing the porch to expand the kitchen, but it lost most of the original character along the way.

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Architect Richard Neutra designed the Kaufmann House in Palm Springs, California, in 1947, and it still stands as a prime example of modernist architecture.

The house was commissioned by Edgar Kaufmann, a department-store tycoon, who had hired Frank Lloyd Wright to build Fallingwater in Pennsylvania the decade before. After Kaufmann died in 1955, his Palm Springs house stood vacant for several years, but later had a series of famous owners including Barry Manilow.

Its auction at Christie’s last week made international headlines. The auction house expected it to sell for upwards of $25 million, but in the end an anonymous bidder scooped it up for $19.

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For those of you who loved my recent post about Sears Modern Home Kits, which were sold through catalogs between 1908 and 1940, I thought you’d like to see some interior photos of one. This Model Home Design #3309 was sold in the Sears catalog in the 1930s as part of the Honor-Bilt line and was called the Lynnhaven. According to the original catalog:

All “Honor Bilt” homes are thoroughly tested to be sure that they are architecturally correct and economical, also durable and convenient.

In presenting the Lynnhaven, we feel that we are offering a home which will solve a problem for many home builders. The graceful way in which the front projection ties itself the main building and the attractive entrance makes this home one that will be admired by many.

To see interior photos of the Lynnhaven:

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Can you imagine being able to flip through a SEARS, ROEBUCK AND CO. catalog full of house plans, choose one like this charming “Puritan” model, and buy it for as little as $1,500?  

Sears sold Modern Homes kits like this one between 1908-1940. Each kit contained between 10,000-30,000 pieces with which you could build your house. They were shipped on boxcars, so you’d go to the railroad station to pick it up. Blueprints were drawn so that novice homebuilders could understand them and came with a 75-page instruction book explaining how to put everything together.

The catalogs assured customers that “a man of average abilities could assemble a Sears kit home in about 90 days.” About half of the kit homes were built by professional homebuilders, but those who did it themselves saved about 30% off the cost of a conventionally built home. In 1908, a contractor charged about $450 to put a kit together. Even then it was considered a bargain.

To see photos of Sears Kit Houses then and now, click “more” below:

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See that tiny blue house wedged in between the white and red ones? It was built in 1830 and is only 7 feet wide. (And here I complain about my family room being too narrow!) The Spite House, as it’s called, has two stories but only 325 square feet. It even appears to be considerably shorter than its neighbors.

Ripley’s Believe It or Not! named it the narrowest house in America. According to a New York Times article:

Structurally, it’s more of an enclosed alley than a house — the brick walls of older houses on either side form the painted brick walls in the living room. It’s called the Spite House by some because John Hollensbury, the owner of one of the adjacent houses, built it in 1830 to keep horse-drawn wagons and loiterers out of his alley.

There’s definitely a lot of family togetherness in the Spite House! They don’t use this as their full-time residence, however, preferring to think of it as their “pied-a-terre.” The owner purchased it for $135,000 in 1990.

Big thanks go to Maya for forwarding the NYT article about the Spite House to me. Check out Springtree Road to see what interesting things she’s taking photos of today.

I love the Oscars. All day I tried to think of a way to justify writing about them on a website dedicated to houses. Then it occurred to me–write about my favorite house from a movie in the past year! That’ll work.

As you know, I have a habit of watching certain movies over and over again just because I like the set design (as I admitted in Houses on the Big Screen), so I couldn’t resist taking this opportunity to post a photo of the movie set I’m rooting for.

It’s the English manor Stokesay Court, which was used in “Atonement,” and it’s my pick for this year’s Academy Award.

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I love touring fabulous houses, even if the only way I can see them is online. I’m betting that since you came to a site called “Hooked on Houses,” you do, too. 

Here’s a 100-year old gem in the Compton Heights neighborhood of St. Louis that I think you’ll really enjoy. It has 4,400 sq ft with 5 bedrooms and 3.5 baths. When they say “they don’t make houses like they used to,” this is what they’re talking about. 

It was impeccably restored and features stunning millwork, stained glass, original pocket doors, and seven original fireplaces–all of them unique and gorgeous. Hard to believe it’s on the market for only $645,000. If I win the lottery this week, I’m buying it, so I hope no one else beats me to it.

To take a tour of this unique old home on Milton Boulevard, click “more” below:

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NOTE: THIS WAS ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED AS A “GUESSING GAME” UNDER THE TITLE, “CAN YOU GUESS WHO LIVED HERE?”

Can you guess which famous literary figure lived in this Hartford, Connecticut house from 1874 to 1891? Here are your three clues:

1) He was born in Florida, Missouri, in 1835. Missouri was a slave state at the time, which influenced his work and beliefs as an abolitionist.

2) He worked for a while as a miner in Virginia City, Nevada, but soon realized he was better suited for writing at the town newspaper, The Territorial Enterprise.

3) One of his famous quotes was: “Fiction is obliged to stick to possibilities. Truth isn’t.”

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See the houses featured at the top of each page in the “Hooked on Houses” logo? I took that picture, as well as the one at the top of this post, in the historic St. Louis neighborhood of La Salle Park.

The area is a showcase of Victorian and Federalist architecture. By 1969, however, the area had become completely blighted, and the city requested a federal planning grant to rehabilitate the neighborhood. Federal funds arrived in 1971, and work began on restoring things like brick sidewalks, common-area landscaping, and street lights. Properties were sold in the 1970s to people who were willing to either restore old buildings or build new structures that would blend in with the old.

The results of the rehabilitated neighborhoods are breathtaking. I went on a home tour through the neighborhood and felt like I was walking through the kind of picture-perfect town you’d only find in a Disney movie. It seemed entirely possible that Mary Poppins might make an appearance with her umbrella, or Lady and the Tramp might go trotting by.

To take a tour of a 100-year old home in the neighborhood with seven beautiful and original fireplaces, check out this post: 1908 Mansion in Compton Heights.