The Foursquare house, defined by its distinctive cube shape and hip roof, was popular in the 1890-1930s for many reasons, including affordability. These houses, like bungalows, were popular kit house options in mail order catalogs. Here we dive into Foursquare kit houses offered by one of the largest kit house manufacturers – the Aladdin Company.
(And if you need a refresher about the What, Why, Who, and When of Foursquare Homes, click here first.)
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Disclaimer
I’m an amateur/ armchair old house enthusiast with a passion for Foursquares. I’ve owned a Foursquare house for almost 10 years and have fallen in love with its distinctive, yet modest look. (I don’t believe my home is kit house). This little blog has a corner dedicated to Foursquares – from celebrities who have lived in them, to fellow bloggers who share a passion for Foursquare home.
In other words, I am NOT a professional historian nor architect. So please reach out if 1) you see any errors and 2) come across additional Foursquare kit houses so that I can modify or add to this post.
If interested in more information about kit houses, check out the Additional Resources section at the end of this post.
Who Was the Aladdin Company?
Founded by brothers William and Otto Sovereign, the Aladdin Company was the pioneer of kit houses, issuing its first kit house catalog in 1906. Originally they sold boat houses, garages and summer cottages, but quickly grew to offering traditional homes.
Aladdin is actually the longest-lived kit home company, operating until until 1981. And in the mid-1920s, they planned and attempted to build an entire Moorish-style city “Aladdin City” – with homes as well as city buildings (city hall, train depot) and even a Moorish-style water tower in Florida.
Known as “Readi-Cut” or “Built in a Day”, Aladdin was based in Bay City, Michigan, but also had offices and distribution in Portland, OR, Wilmington, NC, and Hattiesburg, MS in order to service the entire country.
Over its 70 years in business, Aladdin sold over 75,000 homes, up to 100,000 homes (according to Rebecca Hunter). That’s the most kit homes sold by a company, more than the better-known Sears!
Aladdin customers included individuals (mainly working class) and corporations, including Dow Chemical Co., Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co. and Standard Oil, which housed employees.
For example, a significant number of Aladdin kit houses purchased by Dow Chemical comprise a village in Hopewell, VA.
And Aladdin homes came be found internationally. Per Mail Order Homes by Rebecca Hunter, Aladdin Company once shipped an entire village of homes to Birmingham, England, for workers at the Austin Motor car factory.
For more info on Aladdin, check out an more in-depth history on Instant House as well as Central Michigan University Clarke Historical Library, which was bequeathed the Aladdin Company records – including company catalogs and sales records – in the mid-1990s. The library has this short video with their reference librarian who I believe will help you research your Aladdin home!
If you want to dive even further, there is an 1.5 hour presentation by Wendy and Andrew Mutch on Aladdin Homes in Southeast Michigan (March 4, 2021)
Aladdin Foursquare Kit Houses
Note that for most kit models, I’ve posted only one plan. That doesn’t mean that Aladdin only made that model for one year. In fact, they probably made for several years. But for those models that seemed to be more popular, I added a few photos for reader ease.
One last thing – picture quality is less than ideal. I’m working on improving the quality. Clicking on the link in the caption will take you to the original source where a better copy resides.
Ardmore
At first glance, this one doesn’t look like a traditional American Foursquare. It doesn’t have the usual full front porch, but it does have the distinctive cube style and hip roof of a traditional Foursquare. So I’ve included it here and leave for discussion.
Charleston
I found this model in every issue of the Aladdin catalog I found. Based on the the number of years that this style was found in the catalogs, I guess this was a popular style.
For a further dive into the Charleston kit house, check out this article on Sears House Seeker goes into amazing detail.
Cumberland
To dive further into the Cumberland – including recent photos – check out this Cumberland identified in Carney’s Point, New Jersey in 2014 by Rosemary Thornton. During World War I, DuPont built a munition plant here. To build a neighborhood and provide housing for their employees, they purchased and constructed several Aladdin homes, many of which still stand today.
Herford
I find this model to be interesting based on the lack of dormer in the attic. It makes me wonder just how dark it is in that attic!
Hickory
What I found interesting about the hickory was interior layout, especially on the second floor. Most of the other Aladdin Foursquare kit houses have 4 bedroom on the second floor. However, the Hickory only has 2. This American Foursquare is also missing a dormer with windows in the attic, like a few other of Aladdin models.
Hudson
Langdon
With regards to the second floor, the Langdon is a bit different than the major of the other Aladdin Foursquare mail order homes in that there are not 4 bedrooms. Instead, the Langdon has 3 bedrooms. I do love the second floor balcony and the jut-out on the first floor that is described as a having a “bay providing space for the buffet”.
Montrose
Like the Langdon, the Montrose has only 3 bedrooms on the second floor. Other distinctive characteristics include the gabled roof porch, and a jut-out over the side entrance.
Rochester
Catalog pages for this model were easy to find, so I’m assuming this was a popular model. Cindy Catanzaro details her discovery of a Rochester Foursquare, including a photo of the sales slip, in St Paris, Ohio in 2015.
Sherwood
At first glance, this one didn’t look like a Foursquare with the immense veranda, almost hiding the cube shape and hip roof. But remove those unique features, and it has a resemblance of an American Foursquare. Or at least in my opinion. I wouldn’t blame you if you disagreed!
Spokane
The Spokane’s exterior is slightly different in that one floor is siding, the other level is stucco.
Standard
The Standard Foursquare kit house was a popular style for many years. In 1917 and again in 1920, was given a two page spread, with details on the design and pictures of the interior.
Tacoma
Virginia
Another popular style that Aladdin sold for over a decade, with a bay window jutting out from the side. Rosemary Thornton found a Virginia Foursquare on Virginia Avenue in the state of Virginia!
In 1917 it was given a two-page spread with details and photos of the living room.
Wenonah
This style is dominated by triple windows on the first, second, and dormer windows. Interestingly, there is a full front porch but only the portion over the front door has a roof.
Rosemary Thornton found a Wenonah Foursquare in Hopewell, VA alongside several Sears catalog homes. During World War I, DuPont came to Hopewell to build a dynamite factory. Creating jobs and opportunity, DuPont invested in their employees by building kit houses for their workers.
Wildwood
This model doesn’t have a full front porch. I noticed that the floor plan doesn’t include a porch, which is diverges from floor plans of other models.
Looks like the porch is an option. The written description notes that “the 14′ x 8′ porch can be purchased with the home, or not, as you prefer. It is quoted separately. We also quote separately on this same style of porch in a 22′ by 8′ size in case a large porch is desired.”
Willamette
The Willamette is distinctive with the window configuration: the widely-spaced double windows in the attic dormer, and double and triple windows throughout the first and second floors.
Foursquare Kit Houses in Canada
Aladdin was also well established in Canada, perhaps the largest. They operated across the whole of Canada from 1905 to 1952, with its Canadian headquarters located in Toronto. From a cursory review (there’s probably a lot more that I hope to research in the future), here’s a few Foursquare house kit plans from an 1918 Aladdin catalog. Note that many Canadians refer to Foursquares as Edwardian Foursquares due to the era in which they were built.
The Canadian Museum of History shows picture of an Edmonton south of Dinsmore, Saskatchewan. And note that the Stratford IX also had later models including this Stratford X.
Additional Resources
Want to dive further into kit houses in general? There’s a ton of great information out there, but I recommend starting with these amazing resources and kit house experts. I learned a lot from reading their blogs.
- Rosemary Thornton at https://searshomes.org/
- Rachel Shoemaker at Oklahoma Homes by Mail
- Rebecca Hunter at http://www.kithouse.org/
- Andrew and Wendy Mutch at Kit House Hunters
- Cindy Catanzaro at Sears Houses in Ohio
- AntiqueHomes.org
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