A Sears Lenox in Cincinnati (Riverside)

There’s a few models in Houses by Mail that I just don’t pay much attention to.

Like this one.

Sears Lenox from 1933. (Scan courtesy of Lara Solonickne)

According to Houses by Mail, the Lenox was only available for one year – 1933.  So……really…..what’s the chances of me actually locating one?  Pretty slim.

But,  I’m continuing to slog through the Hamilton County deed and mortgage records books that are available on line, and guess when the last year was that Sears, Roebuck offered mortgages?

1933

It’s tedious work, those mortgage records, but once in a while we locate something we would probably miss on a street survey.  At least I would, since even after I located the house through a mortgage record, I still didn’t recognize it!

That’s when I posted a photo of the house to my Sears House research group, and pretty quickly, Andrew popped in and ID’ed the house.  One of the missing models!

A Sears Lenox.

I had already checked my 1932 and 1935 catalogs, to no avail, and did a scan of the cross gable roof style designs in Houses by Mail, but still didn’t spot the house.  No wonder since the model is listed in the “Gabled roof, one story, end entrance” section of the field guide.  Sigh……I just don’t see the right stuff sometimes.

Anyways, now it’s identified, and here it is.   The Auditor’s photo anyway, from 2008.

Sears Lenox, 5674 River Rd., Cincinnati OH (photo from Hamilton Co Auditors website)

 

The house  appears to retain most of the original exterior details….. at least it did in 2008.

And in 2014, the last time the Google car drove by.

Sears Lenox at 5674 River Rd., Cincinnati OH. (2014 Google maps street view)

In the photo above, you can see the angle of the roof on the part of the living room that juts out several feet from the rest of the house.  That is a pretty unique feature, I’m thinking, and something to look for in the future to help ID this model.   That roof angle is mirrored on the other side of the house in the area that makes up the bathroom.

Here’s the other side from that catalog image above.

The half timbering on the front of the house matches the catalog perfectly, and it looks like the house has the original front door as well.  The half timbering is mentioned in the catalog details.

Even Sears says it’s an unusual design!

Andrew thinks the house may have a fireplace in the Living Room, since it has two chimneys and the placement of them doesn’t match the catalog  floor plan illustration.  That would make sense.  I think the original placement of the chimney on the left side of the house between the front bedroom and the bathroom, was for the furnace vent, so that would probably have been moved to the kitchen area, (back right side chimney) when the fireplace was added to the plans.

Here’s the floor plan.  I think that open living room/dining room concept wasn’t common in 1933.

The house looks really nice with that deck on the front, and I can just imagine sitting there in the Summer with a cold drink and enjoying the view.

It’s on River Rd, ya’ know!

I’ll be adding this one to my ever growing list of houses that deserve a drive by, so I can see them in person, and get my own photos.

Oh yeah, those pesky important details……this Lenox (the only one ever located!) is documented with a mortgage record dated Sept 27, 1933.  Mortgagors were Arthur and Eugenia Hall, who borrowed $2800 from Sears for the kit.  The mortgage was signed by E Harrison Powell, Trustee for Sears, Roebuck.

Thanks for following along!