As Sears said: "When painted white with green shutters and window boxes and set off with the red and white of the brickwork, what could be more delightful?"
 |
| The Sears Betsy Ross. I told you it was adorable. |
 |
| The Betsy Ross, at about 700 square feet, has a nice size living room and two bedrooms. A fireplace came standard as well as a breakfast nook with a coffered ceiling. |
 |
| A 1921 newspaper ad featuring the Betsy Ross. |
Let's take a look at some Betsy Ross houses in the western suburbs.
Downers Grove
 |
| 1416 Warren, Downers Grove. There's the "sunshine" detail above the front door. Photo courtesy of Chuck Holtzen. |
 |
| Side angle. |
 |
| From this angle, we see that this house is a super-close match to the Betsy Ross illustration. Photo courtesy of Sue Smith. |
 |
| The comfortable living room. According to Sears, you could fit all your furniture and a piano. That's the original fireplace mantel from Sears Roebuck. The Betsy Ross is a sunny house! Photo from Realtor site. |
Elgin
 |
| 345 Hamilton, Elgin. I took this photo right after a snowstorm. |
According to research conducted by author Rebecca Hunter, this Betsy Ross was built in 1927, and it is authenticated by stamped lumber in the attic. Elgin has eight Betsy Ross houses.
 |
| This undated old photo (courtesy of Elgin Bungalows) shows the chimney flower box!! It's more of a flower shelf on this house, but it's still awesome. You can also see the original shutter with the clovers. |
North Aurora
 |
| 325 N. Lincolnway, North Aurora. Photo from Realtor site. |
 |
| Photo from Realtor site. |
 |
| Photo from Realtor site. |
 |
| Closeup of the casement windows. Photo from Realtor site. |
 |
| This original Sears door also has the original Stratford door hardware. Photo from Realtor site. |
 |
| This Betsy Ross backs up to the Fox River. I will guarantee that Sears delivered this house by barge. They often did that since it was more affordable than rail. Photo from Realtor site. |
3 comments:
Very nice examples. I love that flower box ledge on the chimney! I always love the wood floors and the patina on the aged woodwork on our Sears houses. Thanks for this post!
Judith
Sears House Seeker blog.
I'm not surprised that the house was sold for ten years... it has a very substantial feel to it in spite of its small size. And, yeah, it's adorable, too! It's fun to see so many examples at once - all in good condition and loved.
I grew up in Betsy Ross house. Very Homey
Post a Comment