Sylvan Lake in Oakland County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Ordered by Mail - Sent by Rail
Kit Homes in Sylvan Lake
Photographed By Joel Seewald, May 15, 2021
1. Ordered by Mail - Sent by Rail Marker
Demand for housing began to skyrocket
in the early 1900s as thousands came to southeast Michigan for jobs in the burgeoning automobile industry. Kit homes were an innovative way to help address housing needs. Manufacturers shipped out materials for a whole house, from precut lumber to door knobs and paint. Friends, family and paid skilled tradesmen used these thousands of parts with an instruction manual to assemble houses on prepared foundations. Well-designed, high quality housing at low cost was the result. Kit homes were built in Sylvan Lake from the 1920s until the 1940s and today more than 30 of these handsome houses still stand.
You Auto Know
Sears, Roebuck and Co. sold 450 ready-to-assemble house models, from mansions to bungalows.
Kit Homes in Sylvan Lake
2170 Avondale
2174 Avondale
2175 Avondale
2179 Avondale
2249 Avondale
1570 Benvenue
2079 Garland
2369 Garland
2389 Garland
2485 Garland
1445 Glenwood
1786 Lakeland
1890 Lakeland
1895 Lakeland
1625 Maplewood
2327 Maplewood
1449 Oakwood
1631
this page online
2190 Pontiac Drive
2195 Pontiac Drive
2240 Pontiac Drive
2325 Pontiac Drive
2335 Pontiac Drive
1430 Rosedale
1440 Rosedale
1466 Rosedale
1845 Woodland
1915 Woodland
1946 Woodland
1975 Woodland
Erected 2013 by MotorCities National Heritage Area, National Park Service.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Notable Buildings. In addition, it is included in the MotorCities National Heritage Area series list.
Location. 42° 37.072′ N, 83° 19.49′ W. Marker is in Sylvan Lake, Michigan, in Oakland County. Marker is on Pontiac Drive, 0.1 miles west of Orchard Lake Road, on the left when traveling west. Located on the Clinton River Trail, just south of Pontiac Drive. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Keego Harbor MI 48320, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. "X" Marks the Spot (within shouting distance of this marker); The Great Escape (approx. Ό mile away); "Body by Fisher" (approx. Ό mile away); Oakland County Boat Club (approx. 0.4 miles away); Learning and Growing (approx. 0.4 miles away); New Life for Children (approx. half a mile away); Sylvan Lake Inn
Images courtesy of City of Sylvan Lake.
2. Ordered by Mail - Sent by Rail Marker left images
"The Crescent" kit home as advertised by Sears, Roebuck and Co. in 1928 and as it stood in Sylvan Lake in the 1950s.
Also see . . . Kit houses in Michigan. Wikipedia article that indicates that kit houses were largely developed in Michigan, many manufacturers were based in Michigan, and many Michigan communities, like Sylvan Lake, still have a lot of examples of kit houses. (Submitted on May 23, 2021, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan.)
Photos of present-day homes courtesy of Helen Jane Peters.
3. Ordered by Mail - Sent by Rail Marker top middle images
Left: "The Crescent" kit home on Maplewood Street in Sylvan Lake.
Right: Kit home on Avondale Street, originally listed as "The Willard" in the 1928 Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog at a price of about $1,900.
Right: Kit home on Avondale Street, originally listed as "The Willard" in the 1928 Sears, Roebuck and Co. catalog at a price of about $1,900.
Image courtesy of City of Sylvan Lake.
4. Ordered by Mail - Sent by Rail Marker bottom middle image
Gordon-Van Tine, Aladdin, Montgomery Ward and others also manufactured kit homes and shipped them to customers in crates by truck and rail. Colonial Revival, Craftsman, and Dutch Colonial styles were very popular.
Photographed By Helen Jane Peters
5. Ordered by Mail - Sent by Rail Marker top right image
This Rosedale Street kit home was called "The Miracle" in the 1916 Sterling System Homes catalog, and its parts were manufactured in Bay City, Michigan.
Image courtesy of Eric Wiegand.
6. Ordered by Mail - Sent by Rail Marker bottom right image
Crate packing label for parts of a Sears, Roebuck and Co. kit home found in Sylvan Lake house.
Photographed By Joel Seewald, May 15, 2021
7. Ordered by Mail - Sent by Rail Marker
View looking toward the east on Pontiac Drive. Pontiac Drive is on the left; the marker is on the right on the Clinton River Trail.
Photographed By J.T. Lambrou, May 13, 2021
8. Kit home at 1625 Maplewood
Credits. This page was last revised on May 30, 2021. It was originally submitted on May 23, 2021, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan. This page has been viewed 139 times since then and 35 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7. submitted on May 23, 2021, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan. 8. submitted on May 30, 2021, by J.T. Lambrou of New Boston, Michigan.
