NEW! Rock & Galloway Finding Aid

The Southeastern Architectural Archive has finalized the processing of the Rock & Galloway Office Records.

The collection includes correspondence, drawings, photographs, presentation boards, models and specifications. Researchers should note that most residential plans were given to individual clients, and the collection subsequently does not provide full insights into the firm's private commissions.

Read more about the collection via the SEAA's Finding Aids by Name.

UDOs [Unidentified Drawn Objects]

Often times, architects did not include municipal addresses or client names on their renderings. Similarly, kit home catalogs sometimes did not reference geographic location or the name of the designing architect.

For the SEAA's recent "Bungalows" exhibit, we incorporated a number of drawings that bore scant identifying information. My colleague, Kevin Williams, was able to identify the locales for the New Orleans residences. Recently, Jeff Rosenberg provided us with more information regarding the bungalows constructed in Mississippi.

Images from top to bottom:

Number 1

R.B. Williamson, architect. Habitation for a Hot Climate, with a "Plein Air" Sleeping Porch. Plate 16, [AKA "Aeroplane Bungalow."] From Georges Benoît-Lévy's Maisons de Campagne sans étage et bungalows. Paris: Massin, c. 1920. Garden Library of the New Orleans Town Gardeners, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

Williamson's bungalow was constructed at 1084 Lafayette Avenue, Biloxi, Mississippi.

Number 2

Edward Sporl, architect. Raised Basement Shingle and Cobblestone Bungalow. Undated. Edward F. Sporl Office Records, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.Southern Pine Association.

Sporl's bungalow was constructed for the Edwards family in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Its address is 119 Washington Street.

Number 3

Nolan & Torre, architects. Bungalow for Fernwood Lumber Company. Fernwood, MS. Undated. William T. Nolan Office Records, Southeastern Architectural Archive, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.Southern Pine Association.

The bungalow is located at 1023 Dogwood Drive.

Number 4

Morgan D.E. Hite and Harry Moses. Residence. Corner Broadway and Green Street. New Orleans, LA. 1926. Harry Moses Office Records.

We knew from decorator Harry Moses' blueprint that this residence was built in two places: New Orleans and Ocean Springs. Kevin identified the residence at 1703 Broadway, but we didn't know the location of the Ocean Springs residence for Mrs. F.E. Lee, referred to in an annotation on the sheet.

Jeff identified the Mississippi residence as "Casa Flores," which was located at 4010 Government Street.

Thank you, Jeff!

Hattiesburg Homes II

The previous post mentioned the Aladdin Company's plant based in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. In 1920, Davenport, Iowa's Gordon-Van Tine Company similarly established a southern yellow pine and cypress mill operation at 22 Pine between Florence and Scooba Streets (shown below). Mill employees marked pre-cut elements with blue lumber crayon for easy assembly.

Home builders in southern states could order Gordon-Van Tine "Ready-Cut" and "Not-Ready-Cut" dwellings for shipment by rail. Clients were required to pick up the house kits at the appropriate railroad station.

From 1922-1932 Gordon-Van Tine also produced Wardway Homes for the Montgomery Ward Company. Its Hattiesburg mill served as the distribution point for the southern United States (shown below).

The Southeastern Architectural Archive retains undated building plans associated with Ward's "The Illlinois" in its Miscellaneous Drawings.

In September 1922, the Gordon-Van Tine Company placed an advertisement in The Times-Picayune, emphasizing that it offered "southern house" plans designed by New Orleans architects (shown above). During the 1920s, agents representing the company's Home Planning Division often sought residential plans from architects across the country. John Andrew Ross, the company's chief architect during this period, emphasized that all plans were carefully considered by "twenty experts" who assessed them based on architectural as well as "housekeeping" criteria.(1)

In  November 1925, Gordon-Van Tine executives Horace G. Roberts and M.L. Grant acquired the former Aladdin Company plant on North Street in Hattiesburg. They rapidly renovated the structure for use as a yellow pine and hardwood flooring factory, the Hattiesburg Flooring Company.(2)

(1)John Andrew Ross. "The Plan-Cut Home from the Architect's Standpoint." Gordon-Van Tine Company. Gordon-Van Tine Homes. Davenport, IA: 1926.  Building Technology Heritage Library via Internet Archive.

(2)"Ready-Cut House Plant Purchased." The Times-Picayune 28 November 1925.

Images above:

Gordon-Van Tine Co. Gordon-Van Tine Homes. Davenport, IA: 1920.  Building Technology Heritage Library via Internet Archive.

"Hattiesburg, Mississippi Plant." Gordon-Van Tine Co. Gordon-Van Tine Homes. Davenport, IA: 1926.  Building Technology Heritage Library via Internet Archive.

Montgomery Ward Co. Wardway Homes. Chicago:  1924.  Building Technology Heritage Library via Internet Archive.

"Buy Direct from Mill!" The Times-Picayune 24 September 1922.

Hattiesburg Homes

In the early 1920s, the Aladdin Company -- headquartered in Bay City, Michigan -- maintained regional divisions in the West, Southeast and South central United States. Boasting awards from the Panama-Pacific Exposition (San Francisco), Aladdin developed a "Readi-Cut" construction system. Using machine-cut timber to reduce labor costs and lumber waste, Aladdin could supply house kits to buyers nationwide. The Hattiesburg, Mississippi office shipped Aladdin homes to customers in Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas.

The company's so-called "Board of Seven" approved individual plans for its products. Once accepted, plans were named and marketed, and then printed into catalogs which were distributed with "Dear Friend" letters via direct mail.

Homes such as "The Franklin" (shown above) could be purchased for less than $3,000.(1) The company also had various rear and side dependencies which buyers could order to harmonize with their desired kit houses. At additional cost, Aladdin supplied kitchen and bathroom cabinetry, mantle book cases and buffets. Customers could also purchase the works, an entire home, its fixtures and furnishings.

It would be interesting to analyze the diffusion of the Aladdin Readi-Cut Homes across the country. Aladdin's corporate records, including those of its Order Department, are housed at the Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University. Sears Home and Plan Books researcher Cindy Catanzaro has done extensive work with the Clarke's records, and would be better equipped to discuss Aladdin "hotspots."

In New Orleans, M.E. Messenger established a business relationship with the Aladdin Company to build its Readi-Cut dwellings. Interested parties could inquire at the 6-room Readi-Cut "Pomona" model bungalow located at 122 Polk Street in Lakeview.(2)

(1) Pricing 1 April 1920. The Aladdin Company. Aladdin Homes: Sold by the Golden Rule. Bay City, Michigan: The Aladdin Company, 1920. Catalog Number 32. NA 8480.A5 1920
Architectural Trade Catalogs, Special Collections Division, Tulane University Libraries.

(2)Advertisement. The Times-Picayune 13 November 1921.

Images above from the publications cited above, with the exception of the 11 April 2015 photograph of 122 Polk Street. K. Rylance.