I was doing reasearch reccently at the Evanston Historical Society, located in the Charles Dawes Museum basement, when I stumbled onto something surprising. I found evidence that a listing of mine – 2302 Noyes – could possibly be a Sears Roebuck mail-order home.
The clue came from a building permit where a contracter noted that the architect was Sears Roebuck. The contractor might have noticed markings on the original cabinetry, indicating it came from a Sears mail-order home.
Another clue was that the original building permit of the home built in 1920 did not list an architect, which was unusual at the time, and could mean that the building materials were pre-designed and put together by a builder.
So, I called an expert – Rebecca L Hunter - who literally wrote the book on mail-order homes – Putting Sears Homes on the Map: A Compilation of Testimonials Published in Sears Modern Homes Catalogs 1908-1940
Rebecca so far has been unable to determine if 2302 Noyes is a mail-order home. The best clue she said is to locate part numbers on the framing boards or ceiling joists. So far, none have been found. But the homeowners were excited, nonetheless.
Rebecca has confirmed and documented hundreds of mail-order homes in Illinois and 29 other states. She says there are almost three dozen mail-order homes in Evanston.
On Thursday, I will list those homes and write some more about mail-order homes.
Today’s Closed Properties
2221 Central #3E – Evanston – $182,000
7636 Kenneth – Skokie – $210,600 (foreclosure)
3333 Noyes – Evanston – $423,750
400 Oak Ridge #400 – Lake Bluff – $600,000
2147 Thornwood – Wilmette – $750,000
Under Contract – (list price=LP)
1726 Lyons – Evanston – $52,900 LP
3439 Main – Skokie – $161,500 LP
1243 Ferndale – Highland Park – $198,000 LP
613 Case – Evanston – $209,000 LP
3380 Old Mill – Highland Park – $244,000 LP
525 Barberry – Highland Park – $264,900 LP
925 Windsor – Highland Park – $287,900 LP
414 South – Evanston – $289,900 LP
4414 Davis – Skokie – $293,000 LP
4501 Birchwood – $315,000 LP
2670 Summit – Highland Park – $429,000 LP
1787 Sunnyside – Highland Park – $839,000 LP
1164 Oak Grove – Lake Forest – $919,000 LP
331 Linden – Winnetka – $1,300,000 LP
Based on information from Midwest Real Estate Data for the period April 12, 2009 through April 14, 2009. Listing and solds by various Participants of MRED
For more real estate information, please call me at 847-512-2724 or email me at TPareti@rubloff.com
Filed under: Buyers, Mail-order homes, News Tagged: | 2302 noyes, evanston closed properties, evanston properties under contract, evanston real estate, Mail-order homes, Sears Roebuck homes, tim pareti
