This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Community Corner

The Era of the Kit House

In the early 1900s these easy-to-construct homes became a popular alternative for those seeking inexpensive home ownership.

At the turn of the 20th century, people were seeking to escape the crowded cities with their population density and their reputation as a breeding ground of diseases for a life in the burgeoning suburban centers. 

Expanding railroad lines and other forms of public transportation made this movement not only possible but easy. However, a shortage of affordable housing for an expanding middle class proved a hindrance. Unable to afford the Victorian mansions of the upper class, these would-be homeowners were ripe for the development of the mail-order home.

The idea of a “kit house,” as it was called, is credited to Aladdin Homes of Bay City, Michigan, who premiered the concept in 1906. Eventually, there were six major national companies marketing their designs for these kit homes, with Sears Roebuck and Pacific Homes being the two dominant suppliers in southern California. Sears alone offered 370 designs, and even these could be customized, increasing the selection of options for the prospective buyer.

Find out what's happening in Monroviawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Although exact records are not available, it is thought that Sears, the nation’s largest supplier of kit houses, sold over 100,000 houses nationwide between 1908 and 1940. Pacific Homes sold an estimated 37,000 homes. When the stock market crashed in 1929, the sale of these homes gradually declined so that by 1940 the popularity of this alternative to an expensive home was all but over.

The charm of the kit home was very appealing. Not only was the home delivered by railroad or truck ready to be assembled, but it was possible for the budget-conscious owner to do the constructing himself--saving about one-third of the cost (as many as 50% of those who bought these early “pre-fab” houses may have done the construction themselves). 

Find out what's happening in Monroviawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Framing members and millwork were marked to make assembling the house easy. It is these very identifying marks that can enable homeowners today to determine if their home is in fact a kit house (a good place to look is under the bottom shelf of build-in cabinets or in the attic).

Prices on kit homes were kept low by mass producing components using machinery that efficiently cut the parts with little waste. It should be noted that labor, masonry, plaster, and electrical components were some of the items not included in the purchase price.  Even so, the price was a bargain, and the entire process from ordering to completion could be accomplished in as little as three months, making the kit house an attractive alternative to traditionally constructed homes.

In 2005 the hosted a meeting for authors Rosemary Thornton and Dale Wolicki who just the year before had published California’s Kit Homes. The publication included a reprinting the 1925 edition of Pacific Ready-Cut Homes which featured more than 100 housing styles. 

Prior to the meeting, the two authors drove around Monrovia and were able in just a short time to identify 13 different houses that were Pacific Ready-Cut Homes. The exact number of kit houses still existing in Monrovia today is not known, but given Monrovia’s rail access at the time and the proximity of the city to Pacific Homes (they were located in Los Angeles), it is very likely that further research would yield the existence of numerous other kit houses in the city.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?