Author(s): Jonathan Louie
It was in front of us all along. Nestled along James Street in East Syracuse sits one of eightexisting Honor Bilt Magnolias #2089 in America—the ‘crème de la crème of Sears Kit Homes’according to Kit Home aficionado Rose Thornton.1A ten room Colonial House the Magnolia is the largest, most ornate, and expensive SearsModern Home. Designed for the ‘discriminating builder willing to invest a fair amount forthe largest returns in comfort2 for the mere price of $9,990.00,3 an ‘average’ homeowner in1918 could purchase a 12,000 piece kit and instruction booklet for the construction of a newsingle family home.4 Through the standardization of measurement, repetition in manufacturingand material optimization, the Sears Modern Home exploited Balloon and PlatformFrame Construction (also known as a Stud Wall, and Light Frame Construction) to manufacturevariations that amounted to 477 unique house types.
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