History Tuesday – Sears Kit House Spotlight Tuesday – The Alhambra

Sears Modern Homes catalog was first published in 1908. The 1913 volume featured 112 designs for homes for which homeowners could purchase a kit that was delivered with all the materials needed to construct the home. Later volumes offered up to 370 designs. Between 1908 and 1940, more than 70,000 of these Sears Kit Houses were built across America.

 

One of the more high-end Sears kits was The Alhambra. Per the 1926 catalog:

The Alhambra is a modern adaptation of mission architecture. The exterior details call for a stucco siding with a course of red brick above ground, and a red or green roof. Windows, doors and decorative molds can be painted in either white, green or any contrasting color. The porch is roofed over the entrance and terraced at the side. While the exterior of the Alhambra is beautiful, its interior is unusually good.

 

 

Living Room/Sunroom/Dining Room

One entered the front door to the living room which featured a handsome stairway on the right, a coat closet  and fireplace with flanking bookcases.  From the living, one entered the sunroom with a built-in seat and French windows facing the open terraced porch. French doors led one from the sunroom into the dining room with a recessed nook suitable for a buffet.

Kitchen

A swinging door entered into the kitchen from the dining room. In the kitchen you would find a pantry closet, sink on legs and a merge into the stairway to the second floor.

 

 

Second Floor

The second floor offered four bedrooms, a bath and a linen closet.

 

A Few Alhambra Sears Homes Still in the Wild (These homes are NOT for sale)

 

 

 

 

Philip, South Dakota

The Alhambra below in Hopewell, New Jersey is estimated to be worth $783,600 today. Check out the interior.

 

14 Louellen St, Hopewell, NJ 08525

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