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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

1934 Christmas Catalogue From Montgomery Ward


15 comments:

Cathy said...

wish this was still possible lol

Anonymous said...

$50 for the lot, $900 for the builder, $5 for permits in the city.

Anonymous said...

This was before greed set in.

Anonymous said...

the plan is still very good. just needs tweeking a bit. wow, those were the days. montgomery ward and sears & roebuck had the greatest house plans and many of them have stood the test of time, unlike many of todays shoddy construction. i guess prices are "relative", but the permits and regulations today are extremely burdensome.

Anonymous said...

I know $1092.00 covered a lot of things in 1934. What exactly did it covered for this house, besides the plans? I would appreciate insight on this.

Anonymous said...

you have got to be kidding me, one bathroom, no stainless appliances, no open floor plan, those bedrooms are just too small, no walk in closet. i just cannot live with that!!!

Anonymous said...

Building materials and blueprint drawings

Anonymous said...

Even in the 60 s and early 70s you could get a very nice house built for 15000 to 20000

Anonymous said...

Goes a long way in showing how the private Federal Reserve has destroyed the purchasing power of the dollar.

Also shows how our society demands that we consume much more than enough. This is about 900 square feet for a family of 3-5. Now people demand twice as much home. Other than a Habitat build, you're going to be hard pressed to find a new, 900 square foot home with one bathroom. But this would be a great place for a young couple to start a family even when you always "need" more from your home. An affordable starter home that allows you to save a bit of equity and gain a tax subsidy is much better than the absurd rents that get you nothing in return that is charged in our city.

Anonymous said...

12:10 you must be spoiled. Many people would be thrilled to have a house like that.

Anonymous said...

1934 Average annual income was $1600.

Anonymous said...

12:10 Look again the master bedroom does have a walk in closet.
People in 1934 would have considered that a pretty fancy house, in door pluming and all. My grandparents didn't have an inside bathroom until the 1960's

Anonymous said...

The Edison Single Pour house was a lot like this in design.

Anonymous said...

I do think this is a pretty nice house but I would have a hard time with only one bathroom.

It might even be tolerable to forgo central air since houses in those days were built with features that let air circulate in warm weather.

Anonymous said...

One bathroom was better than running out to the outhouse