In February of 1905 Louise W.C. Ochsner, a widow, purchased lot 51 Block A in Los Angeles California. In 1906 she had a very interesting bungalow built on that lot. Louise and her daughter and son-in law lived in the house but a couple years. It was quite a bungalow and evidently the pattern was very popular.
In November of 1908 the Los Angeles Herald featured the bungalow on the front page of the ‘Special Real Estate’ section. If you are a Sears homes enthusiast you will recognize this house.
The exterior view of the house immediately caught my attention, naturally. However, as I read the article I realized that the description of the interior was that of another house I was very familiar with!
This Spanish colonial bungalow was built in 1906 at 1265 Leighton Ave, Los Angeles California. Mrs Ochsner sold her beautiful bungalow in April 1909 and it was sold again in February of 1910. In 1910 the Los Angeles Herald once again featured the bungalow in their publication. This time they showed an exterior view from a right angle and an interior photo of the living room going in to the dining room.
If you are a Sears homes enthusiast this is another view you should recognize.
This view shows the living room and entry to the dining room. I suspect these images were taken for a catalog publication. I’m not 100% sure, but … I think this is possibly another one of Los Angeles Investment Company’s designs. If not them maybe Ye Old Planry. I can tell you this, it’s not a ‘Sears’ design!
In Fall 1914 Sears would offer this house as a kit 264P233 and 264P232, the same floor plan but different exteriors. The 264P233 is the exact same photo! And, when I zoomed in I could make out the first three house numbers 126. The interior description and the floor plan of the Sears house matches the descriptions and photos of Louise Ochsners California bungalow. So, there’s the original Sears model that was built before Sears offered houses and proves that they also borrowed/purchased this pattern as well.
Sears Modern Homes would offer this house until 1918/1919 changing the name to the Savoy. By at least 1917 other kit homes companies and pattern books were offering this same house sometimes altering the interior slightly or even completely! However, they all used the very same photo of the original bungalow built at 1265 Leighton Ave.
In 1917 Gordon Van Tine would offer their version of this bungalow in both ready cut and not ready cut. Notice they used the same photo? If you enlarge the image you can make out the house address. The interior was changed quite a bit.
The back of the Gordon Van Tine 1917 catalog features the California bungalow!
This color image is from my 1920 Gordon Van Tine catalog. Gordon Van Tine discontinued this model in 1922.
Jud Yoho, designer of bungalows in Seattle Washington and owner of the The Craftsman Bungalow Company, offered the California bungalow in his 1917 pattern book publication as no 333 ‘All In White’ which was, BTW, the original color of the LA bungalow. This isn’t the only California bungalow that Jud Yoho offered in his pattern books. He offered the Los Angeles Investment Company design 560 which was the design Sears used for their ‘Hollywood’.
The 1917 Bungalow Craftsman catalog of Jud Yoho and Edward Merritt also shows the interior of the living room and dining room…the same photo from the 1910 newspaper. The floor plan is the same as the Sears bungalow. I believe that Sears and Yoho used the original floor plan.
Los Angeles based kit home company Pacific Ready Cut Homes, 1918-1940, also utilized patterns of local designers/architects for their ready cut homes. This is from my 1919 catalog, no 392. They used the same photo but changed the floor plan a lot.
Even William Radford offered a version and used the same original photo! This image, design 10100S, is from one of his 1919 publications.
The Cardenas from Standard Homes Company, another pattern book publication often found at local lumber dealers, appeared in the early 1920’s catalogs they published. This house/floor plan is a little larger than the original but Standard Home plans often offered two sizes.
I bet you are wondering if the ‘original’ Spanish Colonial all white bungalow is still there! Yes, with several modifications.
A Spanish Colonial bungalow in all white at 1265 Leighton Ave in Los Angeles California as it looks today. It has been through several modifications, obviously. The pepper trees from all of the photos are since long gone. Those were so pretty!
A special thanks to Dale Wolicki for sharing this Gordon Van Tine number 706 built in 1920 in Hattiesburg Mississippi. Gordon Van Tine had a mill for a few years in Hattiesburg. Photo is property of Dale Wolicki and may not be used with written permission
I found this California bungalow in Anderson SC a few years ago. I think it might be the Gordon Van Tine version. However, I can’t be 100% sure without seeing the inside as you have likely figured out now! It’s in a neighborhood with other kit homes as well as pattern homes.
This California bungalow is in my neck of the woods, Bartlesville Oklahoma. Now, I wonder what it is? LOL
This California bungalow is in my neck of the woods, Bartlesville Oklahoma. Built in 1914 or 1915 I think. I’m confused LOL
Are you as confused as I am now? And I’m pretty fluent in kit homes as well as pattern homes too! When we do a windshield survey we are often faced with this dilemma because there as so many pattern homes out there that have kit home likenesses. We can only speculate and suggest what a house might be. It is then up to someone else such as the homeowner or a local historian to dig a little deeper in these cases.
Do you need help identifying a kit home or a pattern home? Maybe you have seen this California bungalow? I know we have a few in Tulsa which I am sure were built from patterns but not these in this blog. You may email me at searshomes@yahoo.com
You can follow my finds on facebook if you click here.
And, you can join our closed Sears Homes group on facebook too if you want to learn how to recognize kit homes and pattern book homes!
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