HOMES Millions for the

Richard Cheek's extraordinary collection of plan books illustrates the myriad house types and styles available to Americans in the twentieth century.

by LORNA CONDON Senior Curator of Library and Archives

Home ownership is a key element of the American Dream. From the beginning of the twentieth century, the expanding national economy made home ownership achievable for many Americans. To address the demand for houses, architects, publishers, and department stores began producing house plan books for a wide range of house types and styles. These plan books, which were available through the mail or at lumber yards, had an enormous influence on American domestic architecture and life, providing as they did prescriptions for the design and construction of millions of homes. The illustrations reproduced on the following pages are from just a few of the titles in the Richard Cheek Architectural Plan Book Collection at Historic New England. Dating from the 1900s to the 1970s, the images - from bungalows to ranch houses - depict the richness and variety of American twentieth-century domestic design.

As an architectural photographer specializing in recording the visual history of American architecture, Richard Cheek began collecting domestic design books as a means of educating himself about the buildings he was photographing. In the past fifty-five years, Cheek carefully and systematically assembled one of the finest collections of domestic plan books in the country. It served as the basis for the exhibition Selling the Dwelling: The Books That Built America’s Houses, 1775 to 2000 and its accompanying catalogue at the Grolier Club in New York City in 2013-14. Cheek is now in the process of donating much of his collection to Historic New England.

The Aladdin Company of Bay City, Michigan, began producing ready-cut house kits in the early twentieth century and marketing them to the public through mail-order catalogues. The kits were shipped to the customers, and then the houses were assembled onsite by the homeowner or a local builder. According to the company’s 1921 catalogue (left), these “Built in a Day” homes could be found “in thousands of cities and towns throughout the country.” The Sunshine bungalow (above) presented in a foldout, colored design in a 1919 catalogue is described as “distinctly American in character. …It radiates that sweet, simple home atmosphere everyone wishes to secure in their home. Could a more fitting name than ‘Sunshine’ be given to this home?”

PAGES 30 and 31 The Gordon-Van Tine Company of Davenport, Iowa, offered lumber for two kinds of partially pre-fabricated houses, standard lengths for simpler designs and precut timber for more elaborate models (1915). Called portable houses, pre-constructed homes were also available. Offered by such firms as the E. F. Hodgson Company of Dover, Massachusetts (1928), and the Priggen Steel Garage Company of Cambridge, Massachusetts (c. 1930), the wall and roof sections could be ordered from a catalogue, shipped to the site, and then bolted together. Building material companies such as the National Hollow-Tile Company (NATCO) (1913) and the Lehigh Portland Cement Company (1920s) sponsored competitions in architectural magazines and then published the winning designs in handsome catalogues to encourage greater use of their product. The national mail-order plan book publisher William A. Radford of Chicago promoted his designs with colorful magazines such as Home Fireside and Garden which local lumber dealers could distribute along with his catalogues.

CLOCKWISE Small Homes of Charm (1931) includes plans for houses designed by architects from across the country, ranging from a Cotswold cottage or a Western prairie home to a New England colonial or a French cottage. The cover depicts an idealized stucco English residence with its harmonized materials and landscaping. The Mayflower, the Ponce de Leon, the Concord, and the Rio Verde are the names of just some of the homes offered in Better Homes at Lower Cost (1930). Standard Homes Company of Washington, DC, sold complete working plans for the architect-designed houses at a cost of $20 and promised to deliver them within twenty-four to forty-eight hours. The preface to Popular Cape Cod Colonial Homes (1940s) states, “We are dedicating this book to the popularity of the Cape Cod Home. Born in a setting of economy yet with good taste and a natural symmetrical design, it has kept its attractiveness throughout the years and to-day it is the most popular home in America.” Published in 1949, National Economy Homes provided designs for houses that included all the essentials for good living at low cost. The cover could be custom printed to include the name of only one of the affiliated lumber yards.

The Grossman Company, sellers of lumber and building materials, began in Quincy, Massachusetts, in 1897 and eventually grew to include branches throughout New England and New York. It also expanded into the home building industry. The plan book (above) from c. 1964 showcases the "Ivy" on its cover. This tri-level home featured cathedral-style ceilings throughout, three bedrooms, two modern bathrooms, and a spacious living room. The plan book includes numerous testimonials from customers throughout New England and New York.

The ranch house, which was available in many different styles, was the suburban residence of choice for returning veterans after World War II. Grossman's offered a rather plain version with a side door to the driveway (bottom left), but a greater variety of modern ranch houses was presented by the Franklin County Lumber Company in Greenfield, Massachusetts, in a plan book prepared by the National Plan Service in 1956. According to this catalogue,"as the homebuyer’s number one modern living choice, the ranch home continues to enjoy the unparalleled popularity gained throughout the years. The factors contributing to its popular acceptance are many. As a result of practical one-story planning, the typical ranch house provides the ultimate in efficiency and livability. It features long, low, rambling lines, a generous use of glass for an abundance of sunlight and ventilation, plus eye appeal that is perfect for town or country." The house shown on the cover is described as "a modern trend exterior with open-plan interior."