Kit House Research

Kit House Communities

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Sears Houses of Massapequa Park, New York - Pacific Street

One street west of Grand Boulevard in Massapequa Park is Pacific Street. While not home to as many possible Sears houses as found on Grand Boulevard, there's still several examples of homes that may have come from Sears. As on Grand Boulevard, this list starts on the south end of Pacific Street and heads north.


Sears Glen Falls- 52 Pacific Street - Massapequa Park, New York
Image courtesy of Nassau County Land Records Viewer


Catalog image of Sears Glen Falls
Image courtesy of Sears Archives

Is this a Glen Falls? For the most part, it does appear to match the Glen Falls. One limitation is that we don't have access to building dimensions to be able to compare this house to the dimensions of the Glen Falls. Property sketches are now available for the Massapequa Park homes and this house matches up nicely to the Glenn Falls in terms of the dimensions of the exterior of  the house. At least one other kit home company offered a very similar model to the Glen Falls and there were plan book examples that are very similar to the Glen Falls. Hopefully, some local researcher will be able to find out the answer!


Catalog image of Lewis Vernon (1924)
Image courtesy of Archive.org

The next house at 92 Pacific presents a bit of a challenge. Is it a Sears Sheridan? Sears Vallonia? Neither? This house definitely has elements of either a Sears Sheridan or a Sears Vallonia. But almost all of the distinctive elements, like the porch pillars, that would differentiate one from the other have been lost or covered up. If it is a Sears house, I'm going to go with a Sears Vallonia. But I would like to know either way! I've decided it's a Sears Vallonia. After looking an aerial photo of the house, I could see a distinctive element that's only found on the Vallonia. 


Sears Vallonia- 92 Pacific Street - Massapequa Park, New York
Image courtesy of Nassau County Land Records Viewer


Catalog image of Sears Sheridan (1925)
Image courtesy of Archive.org


Catalog image of Sears Vallonia (1925)
Image courtesy of Archive.org

The next house at 200 Pacific Street is an easy one! It's definitely a Sears Americus. Unlike the previous example, you can still see many of the details that help the Americus stand out, especially that distinctive V-shaped porch roof.


Sears Americus - 200 Pacific Street - Massapequa, New York
Image courtesy of Bing Maps


Sears Americus - 200 Pacific Street - Massapequa, New York
Image courtesy of Bing Maps



Catalog image of Sears Americus (1925)
Image courtesy of Archive.org

The final possible Sears house on Pacific Street is at 205 Pacific. This house, while it has been modified with an enclosed porch and an extended porch roof, still looks like a Sears Oakdale. Some of the key defining characteristics are the triple vents in the smaller of the two front gables and the side entry door near the the front of the house.


Sears Oakdale- 205 Pacific Street - Massapequa Park, New York
Image courtesy of Nassau County Land Records Viewer


Sears Oakdale- 205 Pacific Street - Massapequa Park, New York
Image courtesy of Google Maps


Catalog image of Sears Oakdale (1925)
Image courtesy of Archive.org




2 comments:

  1. I'm enjoying Massapequa Park! This is a nice set of houses, and the Sheridan is one I don't usually think of (bungalows...ugh... everywhere you look, every company!).

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  2. The village located on the South Shore of Long Island shares the early Native American history of Massapequa. Then, in the 19th century, families of German descent relocated from Brooklyn to what is now Massapequa Park, and the resulting community was known as Wurtenberg or Stadtwurtemburg. The main attraction and center of activity was the Woodcastle Hotel, a rooming house built in 1868 on Front Street next to the fire department as a summer resort. It was destroyed by fire in 1952 and replaced by houses..
    Massapequa Long Island

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