A Street of Sears Houses in Akron
So if you read my blog post "Lebanons and Carlins and Rodessas, Oh My!", then you are aware of Hollibaugh Avenue in Akron, Ohio. If you haven't, let me catch you up: A whole street of (you guessed it) Lebanons, Carlins, and Rodessas was built in 1917 & 1918 in Akron's northeastern sector. When I came across it originally, there wasn't really an explanation as to who built them or why they were built there -- all I could deduce was that the houses were all built by the same company.
So a few weeks ago, I was researching for my blog post about North Ardmore Ave in Dayton and I came across this photo.
At first I was too wrapped up in research to really look at the details and glossed it over. When I opened the catalog again, the word "Akron" caught my eye.
Meh, nothing.
It was only about a half hour later when my mind connected the dots -- at 1am, I opened the catalog one more time and looked.
Lebanons.
Carlins.
Rodessas.
It took all I had not to yell out loud (it was pretty late after all) and wake my husband sleeping next to me. I excitedly posted it to the group with the words "Mind. Blown." and my explanation. Here I had solved a mystery that wasn't even on my radar!
So taking a look at the picture above, the photo was taken at an intersection that started with a Carlin.
The Carlin at 598 Hollibaugh Avenue was the only Carlin that was near an intersection.
If you take a look next door, you can see an empty lot, then a two story house.
By looking at the Carlin and the two story house, we can assume that the empty lot used to be the Lebanon in the photo in the catalog.
Here's a better look at the two story house, the Carlin next door, the Rodessa, and then a Lebanon.
So all those houses to the right of the intersection in the photo match up, right? Let's check.
So a Carlin, a Lebanon (empty lot now), two story non-Sears house, a Carlin, a Rodessa, and then a Lebanon. Looks good!
Let's look at the left side of the intersection. So back in 1918, when this photo was taken, it looks like there might have been a little corner grocery store. Sadly, the store is long gone and in it's place are two little houses.
The last house to the left that I can make out is a Lebanon, which was next door to the corner building.
And here is that Lebanon today at 616 Hollibaugh Ave.
So, we're all in agreement that the houses on Hollibaugh Avenue in Akron are the houses in the photo in the 1920 Sears Modern Homes catalog.
Now let's take a look into who built the houses -- the Realty Benefit Company.
My research partner, Cindy Catanzaro, looked them up on Newspapers.com and found only a bit of information. There were ads in the local newspapers from 1911 to 1915 which slowly tapered off. In 1919, the ads started back up again, saying that the company had several houses that they had built with Pre-War prices, but hadn't sold.
Since the Hollibaugh Avenue houses were built during 1917 & 1918, we can deduce that these are probably the houses that the ads are talking about. In April 1917, the US had entered World War I, and by November 1918, the War was over.
However, when the soldiers came home, there was a large re-adjustment period, which was marked by "soaring unemployment, massive strikes, and race riots in 1919." So the builders must have been looking to offload the homes pretty quick since there was a lot of civil unrest in the country -- the ads mention that they were fixing the houses up and offering good selling terms. After 1919, there isn't any other mention of the Realty Benefit company in the papers, so I'm guessing it was bought out or just closed down.
So there it is, the street of Sears kit homes in Akron, Ohio -- another mystery solved!
Thanks for following along! As always, if you think you may have found a Sears kit home, please email me at MidwestSearsHouses@gmail.com.
So a few weeks ago, I was researching for my blog post about North Ardmore Ave in Dayton and I came across this photo.
 |
| Excerpt from 1920 Sears Modern Homes catalog |
Meh, nothing.
It was only about a half hour later when my mind connected the dots -- at 1am, I opened the catalog one more time and looked.
Lebanons.
Carlins.
Rodessas.
It took all I had not to yell out loud (it was pretty late after all) and wake my husband sleeping next to me. I excitedly posted it to the group with the words "Mind. Blown." and my explanation. Here I had solved a mystery that wasn't even on my radar!
So taking a look at the picture above, the photo was taken at an intersection that started with a Carlin.
 |
| Google Maps at intersection of Hollibaugh Ave and Damon St, Akron, OH |
The Carlin at 598 Hollibaugh Avenue was the only Carlin that was near an intersection.
If you take a look next door, you can see an empty lot, then a two story house.
By looking at the Carlin and the two story house, we can assume that the empty lot used to be the Lebanon in the photo in the catalog.
Here's a better look at the two story house, the Carlin next door, the Rodessa, and then a Lebanon.
 |
| 590 Hollibaugh Ave, Carlin at 586 Hollibaugh Ave, and Rodessa at 582 Hollibaugh |
 |
| Rodessa at 582 Hollibaugh Ave and Lebanon at 576 Hollibaugh Ave |
So a Carlin, a Lebanon (empty lot now), two story non-Sears house, a Carlin, a Rodessa, and then a Lebanon. Looks good!
Let's look at the left side of the intersection. So back in 1918, when this photo was taken, it looks like there might have been a little corner grocery store. Sadly, the store is long gone and in it's place are two little houses.
 |
| Houses where corner store used to be |
And here is that Lebanon today at 616 Hollibaugh Ave.
 |
| Lebanon at 6116 Hollibaugh Ave, Akron, OH |
Now let's take a look into who built the houses -- the Realty Benefit Company.
My research partner, Cindy Catanzaro, looked them up on Newspapers.com and found only a bit of information. There were ads in the local newspapers from 1911 to 1915 which slowly tapered off. In 1919, the ads started back up again, saying that the company had several houses that they had built with Pre-War prices, but hadn't sold.
Since the Hollibaugh Avenue houses were built during 1917 & 1918, we can deduce that these are probably the houses that the ads are talking about. In April 1917, the US had entered World War I, and by November 1918, the War was over.
However, when the soldiers came home, there was a large re-adjustment period, which was marked by "soaring unemployment, massive strikes, and race riots in 1919." So the builders must have been looking to offload the homes pretty quick since there was a lot of civil unrest in the country -- the ads mention that they were fixing the houses up and offering good selling terms. After 1919, there isn't any other mention of the Realty Benefit company in the papers, so I'm guessing it was bought out or just closed down.
So there it is, the street of Sears kit homes in Akron, Ohio -- another mystery solved!
Thanks for following along! As always, if you think you may have found a Sears kit home, please email me at MidwestSearsHouses@gmail.com.
I love the research! Isn't it exciting to find a cool piece of the Great Treasure Hunt puzzle?
ReplyDeleteJudith
Sears House Seeker blog
You did good! Congratulations! 😁
ReplyDeleteI grew up in 1 of those houses on Hollibaugh Ave. Good memories!
ReplyDeleteThis post was shared in an Akron history Facebook page months ago. I have lived on Damon St since I was one month old. I’m now 42. We live up that hill and all the way at the end of the street. Seeing this old picture was so cool for me. Especially seeing there was another structure on the corner instead of the two little houses that are currently there. The missing house burned down close to 20 years ago. I had no idea these were Sears homes. Thank you for posting.
ReplyDelete