You win some, You lose some!

This old 1955  ad caught my eye:

Here is what you would get for $25,000.

"This quality home is on a beautiful large lot 120 by 160 ft in a good southwest neighborhood. Butler-Blessed Sacrament district.  Six spacious rooms on first floor. Five rooms and 1 1/2 baths on second floor. Floored attic, full high ceilinged basement with shower and stool. Oil hot water heat, 2 car garage with storage loft.  This property isin excellent condition and can easily be converted to duplex."

This is a photo of the house
when it was built in 1922.



I drive down S. Grand Ave West frequently but sure don't remember this gem.

This is what stands there now:

 We lost this one!

The Aladdin Villa on Williams Boulevard

There is a Mediterranean style home at 957 Willaims Boulevard. It was built in 1919, shortly after this area was opened up for private homes. The architect was not local. In fact the name of the actual architect is unknown.  The house was ordered out of a catalog --

Does this house look familiar?  Here is how it looks now!

Here is how the house looked in 1967 -- there is more original detail visible:

A Special Day in Carlinville

I was invited to join a tour of Carlinville hosted by Laurie Flori. Laurie is an author, freelance writer and Standard Addition advocate living in a Sears, Roebuck home built in Carlinville. Sears, Roebuck homes and especially the Standard Addition are her passion. Periodically she offers tours of the Macoupin County Courthouse and 1869 Jail, her Sears model home (after an illustrated presentation on the history of the Standard Addition) and ends the day with the Macoupin County Historical Society which is housed in a fabulous Victorian house. What a wonderful day! (All photographs can be enlarged by clicking on them.)

We started out at the Macoupin Courthouse. The best adjective I can say to describe it is majestic. The exterior is so striking. The interior is full of symbolism and inspires tremendous respect for the business conducted in the Courthouse.

The Macoupin County Courthouse

Stair rail symbols of "Dog" protecting "People" from "Wolf"

Pelicans symbolizing county of "plenty"

Majesty of the Courtroom

For more information on the Macoupin County Courthouse:

http://www.carlinvillechamber.com/courthouse.html

Next

Our next stop was the  historic 1869  Macoupin County Jail. I guess I now know the meaning of the phrase "being in the click". Wow, This is primitive living at it's worst.  The jail was retired in 1988. The last execution to take place in Macoupin County occurred in 1924 and was held behind the jail.  An example of one of the 100 tickets sold to see the hanging in on display:

 

For more information on the jail:

http://www.carlinvillechamber.com/jail.html

On to our presentation on the Standard Addition in Carlinville which was made up of Sears, Roebuck homes.Laurie illustrates her talk with resources from the period and shares her information in a very relaxing manner.

Laurie presenting on the Standard Addition on Sears Homes

For more information on the Standard Addition of Sears homes, view this web page:

Sears Homes in Carlinville

Next on to Laurie's home:

It is just fabulous to see a Sears home in person!

Our last stop was to the Macoupin County Historical Society. There is a wealth of historical items in a stunnning Victorian house. Here are just a few photographs of the riches of history there:

For more information on the Macoupin County Historical Society:

http://www.macsociety.org/

The 1910 Sears Roebuck Agricultural Exhibit at the State Fair

Click on image below to enlarge:

In 1910 Sears Roebuck built an exhibit of their agricultural products and catalog house goods for the Illinois State Fair. On top of a pavilion, Sears featured a catalog house that was called the Avondale. The house was open for tours and, of course was decorated with items that could be purchased from their mail-order catalog.

Here is a postcard showing what the house would look like on the ground:

 The exhibit continued for many years and it is unknown when the house was removed from the pavilion. No records exist at Sears or in the files of the Illinois State Fair Museum. The house has become the residence of the fair manager and is still there today.

Here's an ad about this particular house design:

 Floorplan of the house

Here is a postcard showing the interior of the home:

 Dining Room Lamp as advertised in Building Materials catalog (Click on images to enlarge)

 China Cabinet shown in Dinig Room