Sears Elmhursts - A List

Catalog image of Sears Elmhurst (1930)
Image courtesy of Judith Chabot

In the past month, I've had the good fortune to locate three Sears Elmhursts. As I noted in my post about the Sears Elmhurst in Washington DC, the Elmhurst was considered a rare Sears model because so few had been found. But that's less true today than it was a couple of years ago. To date, nine 24 Elmhursts have been located. While that is still a small number, it's still more examples than have been found of other well-known Sears models like the Honor (9 17) or the Ivanhoe (8 14). As we know from a recent post by kit house researcher Cindy Catanzaro, the Elmhurst model was built as a "model" home in the Cincinnati area. Based on contemporaneous news articles, it's likely that the Elmhurst was built as a model house in other cities as well.

Knowing that, I've assembled a list of the known Elmhurst models, their location and whether those houses have been authenticated (based on publicly available information). Authentication of Sears houses is an important step as it informs kit house researchers that the house is an actual Sears house versus an "educated guess". By viewing these examples, kit house researchers should be able to identify the various identifying characteristics in the Elmhurst and variations between the model as shown in the Sears Modern Homes catalog and how the houses were actually constructed. For example, one of the Elmhursts that Cindy photographed was constructed with an addition that is documented in the newspaper article announcing its opening for public tours. I've also included approximate build dates for these houses, when known, to assist with researching this model.

Update 1 - I've found two more Elmhursts outside of New York City.
Update 2 - I've found another Elmhurst in the Washington DC area.
Update 3 - Lara Solonicke discovered and Judith Chabot blogged about an Elmhurst in North Carolina.
Update 4 - I've found another Elmhurst in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York.
Update 5 - I've found another Elmhurst in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania.
Update 6 - Added two more examples
Update 7 - I've found another Elmhurst in Niskayuna, New York.
Update 8 - Judith Chabot blogged about an Elmhurst in Sewickley, Pennsylvania.
Update 9 - Another Elmhurst located in Alexandria, Virginia.
Update 10 - Another Elmhurst has been located in East Hampton, New York.
Update 11 - Judith Chabot found an Elmhurst in Morristown, New Jersey.
Update 12 - Judith Chabot found an Elmhurst in located in Half Moon, New York.
Update 13 - Cindy Catanzaro authenticated the Elmhurst located in Aliquippa, Pennsylvania.
Update 14 - I've found another Elmhurst in Brigantine, New Jersey that was built as a model home.

Address	City	State	Build Date	Authenticated
2944 Brandywine St NW	Washington	DC	1930	Yes
5535 Dunham Rd	Downers Grove	IL	1930	Yes
246 S Chandler	Elmhurst	IL	1929	Yes
2450 Boulevard Pl	Indianapolis	IN	1930	Yes
1515 Dale	Silver Spring	MD	1930	Yes
1320 Midland Dr	University City	MO	1931	No
7260 Northmoor	University City	MO	1930	Yes
1116 S Main	Reidsville	NC	1930	No
1903 Brigantine Ave	Brigantine	NJ	1930	Yes
4 Log Rd	Morristown	NJ	1929	Yes
6 Lenox Terrace	South Orange	NJ		Unknown
23 Conklin Terrace	East Hampton	NY		No
134 Park Dr	Eastchester	NY	1930	Yes
798 Hudson River Rd	Half Moon	NY	1929	Yes
43 Pinecrest Parkway	Hastings-on-Hudson	NY	1930	Yes
52-19 Redfield St	Little Neck	NY	1929	Yes
1463 Regent St	Niskayuna	NY		No
116 Reed	Pelham Manor	NY	1930	Yes
1178 W Seymour Rd	Cincinnati	OH	1930	Yes
7307 Reading Rd	Cincinnati	OH	1934	Yes
2875 N Brodhead Rd	Aliquippa	PA	1930	Yes
827 Green Ln	Clifton Heights	PA		No
412 Edgeworth Ln	Sewickley	PA		No
608 Woodland Terrace	Alexandria	VA		No

If you have more information about these houses or find an Elmhurst in your town, let me know so that I can add it to the list!