1950s Blueprints

The bottom two pictures are of the same page.  Click on pictures to enlarge.

About 10 years ago I came across a collection of four sets of complete house blueprints at an estate auction.  Included in the collection were the blueprints for the house that the auction was at and which was also auctioned off that day.  The elderly lady that owned the property was there, to make a decision on the final selling price of the house.  I can't imagine how hard it must be to watch all of your possessions, house, and car be sold and know that you are closing a major chapter in your life.

Anyway, back to the blueprints.  I would presume that since the blueprints for the house were in the sale, the elderly owner probably built the house.  The house they built was one of the smallest of the different plans.  I'm going to feature all of these blueprints over time.  I am not featuring the plans from the actual house until I can get across town and take a picture of the house to include with the post.

Today's plans are for a house of approximately 1400 square feet.  The home includes 2 good sized bedrooms, one bathroom, a large living room with a fireplace and overlooks the back yard, a dining room, eat-in kitchen, utility room, and a full unfinished basement as well as a single car garage.  The rooms are generously sized, and I really like the layout of the plan with it's formal entry hall.  I really prefer a house where you don't immediately enter into the living room.  If ever I purchase another house, a formal entry hall is on my list of must-haves.

The plans include a front planter, specifications for the stone on the front of the house, vertical and horizontal siding, and even the design for the garage door.  I love the generous amount of large windows in this house.  Lots of light makes for a happier home.

I personally feel that the house could use a little more storage on the main level.  The closets are a little small in my opinion, but the unfinished basement would give lots of possibilities for storage and even a family room, extra bedroom and bathroom.

After reviewing these plans a little closer, I discovered that these are probably the plans to a house just a short distance from my house.  I drive past this house everyday; an elderly couple lives there.  The house has had a garage addition and a small addition onto the back of some kind, but I really think it is the same house.  You can see it on Google Maps here: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=188+Broadway+St,+Lamar,+MO+64759&sll=37.506015,-94.27542&sspn=0.009941,0.022724&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=188+Broadway+St,+Lamar,+Barton,+Missouri+64759&ll=37.506917,-94.275398&spn=0.009941,0.022724&z=16&iwloc=A&layer=c&cbll=37.506016,-94.275415&panoid=DriGEt2KJaRFAVvDiO-QVA&cbp=12,87.1,,0,6.61

If you follow the link, use the map controls to see the front, side, and back...since it is on a corner lot you can see the whole place.  In case Google Maps point you in the wrong direction, it's the white house on the corner.

Now that I have realized that two of the four blueprints have been built here in town, I think that I'll have to do some scouting to see if the other two were built.

Maybe I could build one of these plans some day, or if the housing market ever rebounds, my own mid-century ranch subdivision.  Um, wishful thinking!

Look for the rest of the plans over the next few weeks.

Final Days for an Awesome Mid-Century Stone House

I have always liked this stone house.  The pattern of the stone and the combination of turquoise trim really says 50s to me.  I have always loved the pattern the stone makes on the house, and the stone is really unusual, at least around here.  This is the only house I know of that has this stone in town.  Sadly, the interior of this house is semi gutted, and none of the original 50s charm remains inside.

This house is being auctioned off this week.  The bidding ends on October 19, and the house must be moved or torn down within 45 days after the sale.  The stone that I love will be no longer.  You can see the auction and more pictures here: http://www.govdeals.com/eas/itmDisplay.cfm?itemID=7&acctID=1475

The house sits on land owned by Missouri State Parks.  My lovely little town is the birthplace of President Harry S Truman (for those of you who don't know, there is no period after the S - he had no middle name, only a middle initial, which therefore is his middle name).  This house sits a few houses down from the birthplace and was purchased by the state several years ago as part of a planned revitalization of the birthplace.  This plan calls for the houses immediately around the birthplace to be removed and the rebuilding of structures that were present at the time of the president's birth.  As this house is obviously not from the 1880's, it must go.  They are currently auctioning off two other houses, one on either side of this one, to make space for future improvements.

Would someone like to save this great stone house from a bulldozer?

From Russia, With Love

A little over 4 years ago, in May of 2005, I had the privilege of spending two weeks in Russia on a study abroad trip focusing on Russian and American Folk Tales.  We spent our time in the city of Vladimir, a few hours outside of Moscow.  We visited the Pedagogical University as well as an English Magnet School, Vladimir School #23.  We had a great time, and it was an experience that I will never forget.  I would love to go back sometime!  Occasionally I will share some things that I brought back from my trip.

Today, I would like to share this Icon, from the Russian Orthodox Church.  There were street vendors selling these and I was attracted to them.  Our Russian guide told me that the ones that you buy on the street would not do you any good, that you needed to purchase one in a cathedral as they were the only ones that you could purchase that were blessed by a priest.  So, upon visiting a cathedral, I purchased this Icon.  People keep them in their homes and work places to have a place to pray and to keep their homes safe. 

Being a Christian man, I was intrigued, despite my personal feeling that it wouldn't make any difference if it was blessed by a priest or not.  I'm not going to discuss my thoughts on theology here, so I'll just say that I was drawn to this piece for it's artistic value.  It sits at the top of my display of Russian items in my dining room, which includes many pieces of Russian crystal, some nesting dolls, onyx, traditional wooden bowls and spoons, and a beautiful music box that looks like one of the beautiful Russian cathedrals.

Have a blessed Sunday!

Montgomery Ward Signature Labeler Kit

I ran across this vintage plastic strip Labeler Kit (I like the way that my spell check is yelling at me for the word "labeler") at a garage sale yesterday morning.  It was a chilly 36 degrees when I set out, bundled up to enjoy a few end of the season garage sales.  I found this in a box with a bunch of junk (which I threw away) for 50 cents.  I remembered seeing these around when I was little, and even the 1968 RCA console stereo that I posted had one of these labels on the back.  Having flashbacks to my childhood and playing with one of these with one of my friends where his dad worked, I snatched it up.  It has a partial roll of red tape in it and two decent rolls of blue tape.  Does anybody know if the tape for these machines is still being produced?

More City-Wide Garage Sale Finds

While out searching for great mid-century finds at the city-wide garage sale a couple of weeks ago, I happened across a sale where the owner had moved into her mother's house after her mother had died and was in the process of updating it.  The house is a nice mid-century ranch.  The current owner decided to put some of the things that they had removed from the house in the sale instead of trashing them.

The first thing that I found were these great light-switch surrounds.  There are just enough of them to do every light switch in my house, and all of them are the right sizes for what I need.  What are the chances of that happening?  I got all 7 pieces for a whopping 50 cents.  Once I get them cleaned up, they will really add to the mid-century look of the house.

At the same sale I found a typical two-bulb bedroom light with the square glass shade.  These are inexpensive and still made today.  What I liked about this one was the great pattern printed on it in white on the back and the fact that the shade has great texture on the outside, almost makes me think of a piece of hobnail glass.  I think that this might end up in the spare bedroom when I remove the ceiling fan, or it might just go into storage until I have the money saved up for the addition and then use it in a new room.  Anyway, for the large sum of $1 that I paid for it, I could let it sit in storage a long time and not feel bad about it.  I'll find a use for it someday!

The temperatures at night are getting into the 30's now and with all of the rain we have had over the past few days our local creek/river has filled up the flood plain.  I'm thinking that today might be a good day to be lazy and stay indoors with a good book!  Have a great Saturday!

Vintage Health-O-Meter Scale

Sometimes you just have to find something to stand out and make a statement.  I've been keeping my eye out for a retro-style scale for my bathroom re-do that I am still working on.  (At least everything works now!).  I ran across this old Health-O-Meter by Continental at a yard sale this summer.  I really like the black and white scheme on it, although the fact that the print is not symmetrical on either side of the handle really tests me.  I like things to be evened out!  Seems to be pretty much accurate and will be a great period piece for the bathroom when done!

My House's Twin Hits the Market

This house is about 5 blocks down from the house I grew up in.  We drove past it everyday when I was growing up.  I always liked the stone on the front and the cool wood pillars on the front stoop.  Although this Realtor photo isn't the greatest, the house is on the market.

What is neat about this house, in my opinion, is that it was obviously built by the same builder as my house.  It has the same stone as my house and even the same stoop pillars.  The house is the same square footage.  The only difference is that the house above is 3 bedroom, and my house is 2 bedroom.  From what I have been able to find out about the above house, there are two small bedrooms in the front where I have one large bedroom, and they made the living room smaller in the above house to make the front bedrooms somewhat decent in size.  I have a feeling that this house might feel just a bit cramped.  This house sits on a smaller lot,  80' x 126', where mine is 90' x 150' - I love my large lot!

The house even has the same color scheme going on as mine...the brown linear sandstone on the bottom of the house, the beige siding, and the light brown roof.  The only real difference is that the shutters on this house are blue, and the shutters on my house are green (I prefer the green).

At this time, the house is a rental.  Sounds like it might have a similar history to mine.

You can view the Realtor listing here: http://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/1207-College_Lamar_MO_64759_1109545167

This is the second house down from the highway, has a little creek at the rear property line, and sits next door to an old fashioned country church.  The property behind it is a youth center and an office for the University of Missouri Extension, beyond that it is commercial property.  I'm glad that mine is on the cul-de-sac.

Below I am posting a picture of both the house for sale and the Cul-De-Sac Shack for your comparison.  I might have to stop and take a better picture of this house sometime.

*Please Note*  I have nothing to do with this listing, I don't know who the owner is and I have no affiliation with the Realtor who is listing this house.  I'm  just sharing it because it is so similar to mine.

There is another house in town that is the exact same floor plan as mine, with the same stone, but it has white siding and a front porch.  I'll try to get a picture of it sometime to share as well.

The Cul-De-Sac Shack

 

The Twin