Sears is erasing, but the memories of its mail order houses continue: NPR

Through the Internet, you can buy just about anything online and receive it in a few days or less.

The process is reminiscent of the early 1900s, when people turned to mail order catalogs to find products to buy. And, surprisingly for the moment, they could even order houses via a catalog.

Sears, which was once the largest retailer in America, was only one of the companies that sold homes that way. Now that his parent company has filed for bankruptcy, the owners of some of these homes are lamenting the end of the Sears era.

"You realize that you live as an example of what Sears was able to accomplish at the time when he was the biggest catalog seller in the country," said Andrew Mutch, owner of a Sears home to the Outside Detroit.

In his first catalog in 1888, Sears sold watches and jewelry. Catalogs have proven popular and, over time, different products have been added and tested, including homes.

The Sears Modern Homes catalog debuted in 1908 and offered all the equipment and plans needed to build a home. The pieces that arrived by mail were designed to fit in a little like Lego, so that buyers could build the houses themselves or hire contractors.

"You would order everything from your lights to your lamp, [the wall covering], kitchen cabinets, all, whether you get a garage or not. And then, it has just been delivered to you, "said Allison Keyes of NPR in 2014 at Preservation, Eric Dobson.

Sears was not the first company to offer mail-order "kit houses," but by the time the catalog was discontinued in 1940, it was estimated that Sears had sold between 70,000 and 75,000 homes.

The houses originally cost from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand dollars. The Martha Washington model, for example, initially sold for $ 2,688 to $ 3,727 (or the equivalent of $ 35,713 to $ 49,518 today), but in 2016, it sold for more than million bucks.

Some mail order enthusiasts estimate that about 70% of Sears homes are still standing.

Eric Romain, has one, a model of Vallonia in Royal Oak, Michigan, and in his area in particular, there are a few kit houses.

"I can drive five minutes or drive my bike and see six models of houses identical to mine," he says.

According to Romain, Sears homes are more or less similar to the catalog houses of their time, but what makes them remarkable are their stories – and their role in the development of the middle class.

"Being of the middle class and being able to buy and own a home that you can build with your own hands," he says.

Romain has fond memories of the Sears store where he grew up in Saginaw, Michigan. He went there with his father to buy Craftsman tools.

"It was part of the landscape of the growing shopping center," explains Romain. When he closes, he says, "I can not even understand what it will be like."

Andrew Mutch and his wife Wendy run the Kit House Hunters blog, where they share the work done by themselves and other researchers to identify kit homes across the country.

In 2003, Mutch purchased a Hamilton style home in Novi, Michigan. This house was included in the original catalog of the Modern Homes of 1908, although it was built in 1926.

When Mutch bought the house, he received a rather unusual housewarming gift from the previous owners – a an information binder on Sears homes.

He says that since he's been buying property from friends, he already knew that it was a Sears home, but that he had bought it for his character.

Mutch began researching the Sears homes after the son of the original owners of the house contacted him for photos of the house under construction.

It was this interaction that motivated him to search the Sears kits.

"I realized that not only was it a house, but that there was this whole story behind the house," Mutch says.

"I associated Sears with this iconic big brand that everyone knew.This was not an obscure store.Every city had a Sears store," says Mutch. "It had been there forever."

He's not old enough to remember Sears at his peak, but he says kit home owners are saddened by the company's financial problems.

Rebecca Hunter, author of Put Sears homes on the map, grew up in Sears stores. "That's where you went without any money to shop in other stores," she says.

Hunter acknowledges that smaller homes, including kit houses, are being demolished and replaced by McMansions.

"The construction has changed and the desires of people have changed, and few people now want a small six-room chalet of 800 square feet," she says.

But Hunter hopes to continue researching and researching Sears homes and other homes.

"The home kit phenomenon is rather unique in the field of architecture in the United States, so I am very convinced that at least a percentage of these houses must be saved," she said. .

Ayesha Abid is an intern at the NPR Business Office.