Building Aurora: Sears Houses in Aurora, Illinois

History

From 1908 to 1940, Sears Roebuck and Company ordered, manufactured and sold homes to hundreds of thousands of Americans. They offered quality homes at a reasonable price.

At first, the mail order business was slow and it was not certain if selling homes would be profitable. Sears began to see a profit with the printing of their first publication, Book of Modern Homes and Building Plans. Soon, Sears set up sales offices where buyers could browse and purchase plans. Sears homes followed architectural styles rather than set precedent. They took already popular designs and made them widely available to the public in different sizes and shapes. Buyers chose plans depending on their own style and affordability and also had the opportunity to modify the plan or bring in their own. Everything from fixtures to furniture was also available to buyers to complete the Sears look.

An efficient delivery and construction system was set up to allow easy assembly. Materials were usually shipped by rail and shipments were staggered according to building schedule. Because rail was the most popular form of transportation, Sears homes can mostly be found in the Northeast and Midwest, where rail lines were more frequent.

Sales were strong in the early Depression years but lagged by 1933. In 1934, Sears closed the Modern Home Department. It briefly reappeared from 1935-1939 and only offered fabricated houses by General Houses Inc, of Chicago. This association ended in 1939 and the last book was published in 1940.

Sears homes were popular in the railroad community of Aurora, which boasts 136 authenticated properties, making Aurora one of the largest concentrations of Sears homes in the country. A Sears Honor Built Home office was located on River Street from 1929 to 1934 and was managed by F.C. Gallagher, who lived in a Sears house at 125 S. Western. A majority of Sears home owners in Aurora obtained financing through Sears and signed trust agreements with Sears employees Walker O. Lewis, and E. Harrison Powell.

Self-Guided Tour

Download the Sears Houses in Aurora Self-Guided Walking Tour brochure.

Complete List of Sears Homes in Aurora

Below is a complete list of Sears houses in Aurora (and two in Montgomery that were originally in Aurora). The Preservation Commission has identified a majority of the styles, but since many are modified it can be hard to tell. If you have any information on a Sears house or a style that is not identified, please notify the Preservation Commission.

Complete list of Sears Homes in Aurora
Number	Address	Style
1.	1014 Allaire Ave	The Grant (?)
2.	387 Ashland Ave	The Wellington
3.	187 N. Calhoun St.	The Starlight
4.	193 N. Calhoun St.	The Farnum
5.	210 N. Calhoun St.	The Grant
6.	255 N. Calhoun St.	Sears Garage
7.	171 S. Calumet Ave	The Castleton
8.	406 S. Calumet Ave	The Glyndon
9.	521 S. Calumet Ave	The Maplewood
10.	838 Charles St.	The Kismet
11.	848 Charles St.	The Winthrop
12.	914 Charles St.	The Vallonia
13.	916 Charles St.	The Fairy
14.	924 Charles St.	The Natoma
15.	926 Charles St.	The Berwyn
16.	604 Concord St.	The Letona
17.	730 E. Downer Pl.	No 126
18.	506 S. Elmwood Dr.	The Puritan
19.	125 N. Farnsworth Ave	The Crafton No3318E
20.	563 Farnum St	The Hampton
21.	800 Fifth Ave.	The Somers
22.	804 Fifth Ave.	The Olivia
23.	924 Fourth Ave.	The Wilmore
24.	735 Front St.	The Westly
25.	748 Front St.	The Winona
26.	1120 Front St.	The Wellington
27.	1040 E. Galena Blvd	The Wellington
28.	1107 E. Galena Blvd	Customized
29.	803 W. Galena Blvd	The Alhambra
30.	553 Gates St.	The Berwyn
31.	821 George St.	The Berwyn
32.	813 Gleason Ave	The Solace (?)
33.	814 Gleason Ave	The Farnum
34.	1019 Grand Bl.	The Wellington
35.	1308 Grand Bl.	The Dundee
36.	948 Grove St.	The Oakdale
37.	1100 Grove St.	The Vallonia
38.	1138 Grove St.	Customized
39.	1211 Grove St.	The Oakdale
40.	613 Hammond Ave	The Elmwood
41.	826 Hammond Ave	The Hampton
42.	250 Hampshire Ave	The Claremont
43.	773 High St.	The Crescent
44.	1000 High St.	The Plymouth
45.	625 Hinman St.	The Conway/Uriel
46.	22 Hopkins Ave	The Fullerton
47.	510 Illinois Ave	The Farnum
48.	545 Illinois Ave	No 126
49.	1474 Indian Ave	The Grant
50.	216 Ingleside Ave	The Hammond
51.	325 Ingleside Ave	The Hampton
52.	329 Ingleside Ave & Garage	The Natoma & Garage
53.	1034 Jericho Rd.	The Wilmore
54.	215 Keck Ave	The Farnum
55.	180 Kendall St.	The Westly
56.	849 E. Lake St.	The Collingwood
57.	726 S. Lake St.	Gone
58.	452 Lakelawn St.	?
59.	643 Lafayette St.	The Westly No 144
60.	1024 Lafayette St.	The Claremont
61.	108 N. Lancaster Ave	The Crescent
62.	412 N. Lancaster Ave	The Claremont
63.	332 LeGrande Blvd	The Puritan
64.	1130 Liberty St.	The Grant
65.	1318 Liberty St.	The Clyde
66.	1426 Liberty St.	The Hampton
67.	206 N Loucks Ave	The Farnum
68.	219 N Loucks Ave	The Olivia
69.	231 N Loucks Ave	The Mount Vernon
70.	387 Manor Pl.	The Wellington
71.	522 N. May St.	The Conway
72.	628 Monroe St	The Starlight
73.	702 Montgomery Rd.	Gone
74.	714 Montgomery Rd.	Gone
75.	716 Montgomery Rd.	Modified
76.	720 Montgomery Rd.	Modified
77.	517 Morton Ave	The Hamilton
78.	523 Morton	Modified
79.	647 W. New York St.	The Starlight
80.	807 W. New York St.	The Fullerton
81.	772 North Ave	The Cornell
82.	774 North Ave	The Crafton
83.	432 North Park Ave	The Starlight
84.	6S191 Old Eola Rd.	The Westly
85.	545 S. Ohio St.	The Berwyn
86.	541 Parker Ave	Customized
87.	545 Parker Ave	Customized
88.	549 Parker Ave	Customized
89.	259 Parkside St.	The Berwyn
90.	1026 Pearl St.	The Berwyn
91.	513 Phoenix Ct	The Grant
92.	519 Pierce St.	Modified
93.	1860 Plain Ave	The Starlight
94.	1870 Plain Ave	The Sunlight
95.	1872 Plain Ave	The Homewood
96.	1156 Pleasant Pl.	The Farnum
97.	822 Prairie St.	The Barrington
98.	904 Prairie St.	The Hamilton
99.	184 Ridgeway St.	- Gone -
100.	943 Ridgeway St.	Modified
101.	949 Ridgeway St.	The Hampton
102.	951 Ridgeway St.	Modified
103.	953 Ridgeway St.	The Starlight
104.	708 Sard Ave	Modified
105.	852 Sard Ave	The Claremont
106.	1024 Second St.	The Crescent
107.	1565 Sheffer Rd.	The Willmore
108.	699 Sheridan St.	The Somers (?)
109.	1130 Solfisburg Ave	The Hampton
110.	1246 Solfisburg Ave	The Berwyn
111.	528 South Ave.	The Crescent
112.	602 S Spencer St.	Customized
113.	813 Spruce St.	The Sheridan
114.	847 Spruce St.	Modified
115.	1010 Spruce St.	The Fullerton
116.	1014 Spruce St.	The Olivia
117.	1027 Spruce St.	The Starlight
118.	155 N. State St.	The Fullerton
119.	313 S. State St.	?
120.	328 S. State St.	Customized
121.	108 Sumner Ave.	The Hampton
122.	186 N Sumner Ave	The Berwyn
123.	245 N Sumner Ave	The Farnum
124.	1022 Superior St.	The Starlight
125.	1131 Superior St.	The Hampton
126.	906 Talma St.	The Wellington
127.	609 S. Union St.	The Berywn
128.	621 S. Union St.	Modified
129.	632 S. Union St.	The Oakdale
130.	707 S. Union St.	Modified
131.	125 S. Western St.	Modified
132.	378 West Park Ave	The Winona
133.	405 Woodruff St.	The Wellington
134.	824 Ziegler - Gone	The Crescent 3258-A
135.	828 Ziegler - Gone	The Dundee
136.	832 Ziegler - Gone	Modified
137.	959 Ziegler	Modified
138.	719 Palace	The Crescent