Aladdin Plaza in Enid, Oklahoma

A few months ago a fellow researcher friend sent me several sales orders for Aladdin homes shipped to Oklahoma in the early 1900’s. She  visited the Clarke Historical Library at Central Michigan University to research sales orders shipped to her home state of Ohio. In that batch of Aladdin sales orders were two orders to Enid, Oklahoma and one to Covington, Oklahoma.  I’ll just show you the Aladdin Plaza in Enid in this blog. I’ll show you the other two Garfield County Aladdins later.

In June of 1919 George Bowers, a railroad conductor for the Frisco Rail Road, placed an order for an Aladdin Plaza and an Aladdin Winton garage. Both were shipped in November of 1919.

George was an educated man. He graduated in 1897 from Oklahoma A and M College at Stillwater, OK  in the second graduating class of 3 persons. For those of you not familiar with Oklahoma colleges that is Oklahoma State University now.  Go Cowboys!

This is George and his wife in 1925.  What a lovely couple!  Thanks to Robert Bailey, their grandson, for allowing me to use his family photos.  It makes my research so much more personal to see the folks who lived in these houses.

George and Della Bowers in 1925

Here is the original sales order for the house that Mr Bowers ordered.  What I don’t know is if he built it or hired carpenters.  George was a hard-working farm boy, it wouldn’t surprise me if he built it or at least helped build it.

Aladdin Plaza Sales Order for George Bowers in Enid, Oklahoma

Here is the Aladdin Plaza from my 1919 catalog.

Aladdin Plaza from my 1919 catalog

Here are some beautiful photos of George Bowers Aladdin Plaza in Enid, Oklahoma. What a PERFECT match!

The Aladdin Plaza at 424 W. Wabash in Enid, Oklahoma.
Special thanks to Marian and Ken Clark of Tulsa for stopping by this house on their vacation. Marian is a guardian at the Tulsa Historical Society

The Aladdin Plaza at 424 W. Wabash in Enid, Oklahoma.
Special thanks to Marian and Ken Clark of Tulsa for stopping by this house on their vacation. Marian is a guardian at the Tulsa Historical Society

George also ordered an Aladdin Winton garage.  Here is the original sales order for that garage!

This original sales order from Aladdin shows the Winton garage.

Here are the garages Aladdin offered in 1919.  Did you know you could buy a kit garage?

Aladdin Garages from my 1919 catalog

This is the garage that Mr Bowers ordered, The Aladdin Winton.

The Aladdin Winton Garage from my 1919 catalog

I bet you are wondering if the Winton model garage is still there!

Aladdin Winton Garage in Enid, Oklahoma

Here is my most favorite photo of all! George and his wife Della and their daughters Helen, Dorothy and Madeline. This was taken on the front porch of their Aladdin Plaza in the summer of 1924.  His three daughters all graduated from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.

The Bowers Family in the summer of 1924 on the front porch of their Aladdin Plaza

How about a few more photos of that Aladdin Plaza in Enid?

The Aladdin Plaza in Enid, Oklahoma

The Aladdin Plaza in Enid, Oklahoma

And here is the catalog image from that angle seen above.

1919 Aladdin Plaza

Special thanks to Cindy Catanzaro from Springfield, Ohio for sending me Oklahoma Aladdin Sales records. Following is the cover to the Aladdin Hattiesburg Index from 1919. I believe that the majority of Oklahoma’s Aladdin kit homes were shipped out of the Hattiesburg Mo Mill instead of Bay City Michigan.

The cover of the Hattiesburg 1919 Index

I would also like to thank Marian and Ken Clark for the photos of the Aladdin Plaza in Enid, Oklahoma. They took time from their vacation as they passed through Enid this summer to stop and take photos. Marian is a guardian with the Tulsa Historical Society.

I would especially like to thank Robert Bailey for allowing me to use his family photos. They add so much to the story of the house. When I can put an actual face to the house it makes it very interesting! If you are interested in learning more about the Bowers family there are memorials for several family members on Find A Grave.

If you have a kit home that you need help identifying you can send me a message here.

Have a Prosperous and Happy New Year and I hope you will follow my blog or follow me on facebook. There is also a Sears Group on facebook to which I belong.