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| 314 W. Lincoln, Barrington. |
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| The Montgomery Ward Newport from the 1930 catalog. |
This authenticated Newport model from Montgomery Ward was built in the summer of 1930. The Newport was an English Cottage that was strikingly similar to the Sears Mitchell.
The copywriter for the 1930 and 1931 Wardway Homes catalogs was overly excitable and wrote some hilarious copy about the houses. The Newport was hyped like this:
"Architecturally, it is one of the nicest small houses ever designed."
"Its floor plan is perfect--embodying the modern architect's greatest achievements in scientific room arrangement."
"[The house has] an arched doorway leading into the most delightful living room imaginable."
Wow! What a house!
The original owners of the Newport in Barrington were Rudolph and Mary Wendt. Rudolph worked as a farmhand on the nearby Kendall Farm. In August 1930, Mary wrote a letter to Montgomery Ward. A snippet of this letter was featured in Wards advertising in 1930 and 1931.
Wards offered home construction services in the Chicago area in 1930. Wards would provide all the house materials, hire local tradesmen to build the house, and have their Field Service Organization supervise the construction. The Wendts took advantage of this service.
Montgomery Ward featured a photo of the Wendts house on the cover of their employee magazine in September 1930.
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| The caption reads: "The Newport, a Wardway Home in Barrington, Ill." Those are not the Wendt children! Scan courtesy of the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming (much thanks to Ginny Kilander). |
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| Mrs. Wendt's complete letter to the company. The Wendts were in the market for a sewing machine, and Montgomery Ward sold them a house. Scan courtesy of the American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming. |
The Wendts lived in the house until 1935.
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| Photo from Realtor site. |
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| Photo from Realtor site. |
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| Photo from Realtor site. |
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| Photo from Realtor site. |
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| Photo from Realtor site. |
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| Photo from Realtor site. |
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| Photo from Realtor site. |
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| Photo from Realtor site. |
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| Photo from Realtor site. |
2 comments:
It cracks me up , the wording that everyone used in those testimonials back then :)
Trulia lists this as a multi-family, now?? Where would they have the room!?
Judith
Sears-House-Seeker.blogspot.com
A multi-family really?? That was not apparent when I went by.
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