Sears Homes of Chicagoland

Program Type:

Home & Garden

Age Group:

Adults, Seniors
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Event Details

Do you love old houses? On October 2, come explore the Sears Homes of Chicagoland.

From 1908 to 1942, Sears Roebuck and Company sold about 65,000 ready-to-build kit homes through catalogs.  Despite the rash of teardowns in the Chicago area, some of these houses have managed to survive… undiscovered treasures that are hidden in plain sight.

In this presentation, you will learn about the history of Sears ready-cut houses, what a Sears house is (and isn’t), how to authenticate one, and common misconceptions about these houses. You will see a variety of Sears houses in Villa Park and neighboring communities.

Lara Solonickne is the creator of the viral blog Sears Homes of Chicagoland, which spotlights kit homes in the Chicago area. Lara is an architecture enthusiast who enjoys uncovering the hidden stories behind old houses. She holds a degree from Northwestern University.

Her research and blog have been featured by FOX 32 News, the Chicago Tribune, Yale University Press, Curbed, McMansion Hell, The Columbus Dispatch, The Birmingham News, and more.