Saturday, October 9, 2021

Sears Silverdale in Old Monroe, Missouri

color front view of yard and yellow Sears Silverdale, 111 Cuivre St Old Monroe MO
Sears Silverdale, 111 Cuivre Street, Old Monroe, Missouri • circa 1917

Holy cow, I never thought that I'd come across a Sears Silverdale in Missouri! But, lo and behold, up popped this listing for a Sears house in Old Monroe, and there it was, a Silverdale in all its glory. This one has some big additions, but the basic plan is the Silverdale's. Like my mom's family's Silverdale, the living room was pushed out to the right side (though on my mom's house, the porch followed along the whole width of the living room).

black and white catalog image, Sears Silverdale in 1918 Sears Modern Homes catalog
Sears Silverdale in my 1918 Sears Modern Homes catalog

This house has the entry into the living room, from the entry vestibule, which is sometimes present on the Silverdales we've found, and sometimes not. The floor plan shows access to the living room and to the dining room, from that entry vestibule, but this one has access only to the living room (as did the last one I showed, one in Paris, Kentucky).
annotated catalog image of first floor layout, Sears Silverdale
Sears Silverdale floor plan, first floor

color living room view inside Sears Silverdale, 111 Cuivre St Old Monroe MO
View from the (extended) living room, to the entry vestibule and dining room, on the Silverdale in Old Monroe.

living room, vestibule, and dining room views of Sears Silverdale, Paris Kentucky
That same view, in the Paris, Kentucky Silverdale

Here's the view from the dining room, up to the entry vestibule and the living room, first in the Old Monroe Silverdale, then in the Paris, Kentucky Silverdale:
catalog floor plan, first floor, Sears Silverdale

color dining room view inside Sears Silverdale, 111 Cuivre St Old Monroe MO
Old Monroe Silverdale, view into the living room, from the dining room... no access to the entry vestibule

annotated color photo of dining room and living room of Sears Silverdale in Paris Kentucky
Here's the same view, in the Paris, Kentucky Silverdale.

The first floor plan of the Silverdale, shows two doors on the interior side wall. One goes into the side bedroom, and one goes to the staircase:
black and white catalog page section: Sears Silverdale, description and floor plans, 1918 Sears Modern Homes catalog
The Sears Silverdale, 1918 Sears Modern Homes catalog

We can just make out those two doors on the Silverdale, looking into the dining room from the living room of the Old Monroe Silverdale:
color views of dining room and living room inside Sears Silverdale, 111 Cuivre St Old Monroe MO
You can also tell that the living room-- which should stop about in the middle of where this large buffet/armoire piece of furniture is -- has been enlarged, extended out to the right.

color dining room and living room views inside Sears Silverdale, 111 Cuivre St Old Monroe MO

Here's a view showing the full size of the enlarged living room:
color views of living room inside Sears Silverdale, 111 Cuivre St Old Monroe MO
This is pretty much just what the layout is on my mom's family's Silverdale, with its enlarged living room.

Most of the rest of the photos of the Old Monroe Silverdale, are of the big family room addition, and the (very brown) modernized kitchen, so they're not of much interest to me, in terms of seeing the original design of the house. But, I'm glad that it's in such nice condition, and mostly still has the nice, large Craftsman style trim around the windows. Personally, I prefer area rugs, so that you can see at least some of the hardwood flooring, so this wall-to-wall carpeting all over the first floor of this house, is not to my liking... but, I suppose that if one were trying to entice younger buyers, who are used to looking at modern subdivision houses with wall-to-wall carpeting, this might be the look to go with. I probably wouldn't mind it, if I didn't know that there were original hardwood floors under there... but, I know that there are, and I wish that I could see them! I hope that the new buyers pull up the carpeting, refinish the hardwood, and put down some nice area rugs that allow the original floors to show. 

The bedrooms have carpeting, as well, but they also have original Sears doors and... original trademark Sears hinges and Sears Stratford door hardware, so... new buyers... don't replace those! Please!
sepia and black and white page of hardware from 1922 Sears building materials catalog

upstairs bedroom with original Sears doors and Craftsmand trim, inside Sears Silverdale, 111 Cuivre St Old Monroe MO
Because of the closet next to the entry door, I'm thinking that this must be the upstairs front bedroom

upstairs bedroom with original Sears doors and Craftsmand trim, inside Sears Silverdale, 111 Cuivre St Old Monroe MO
You can't really see it, but those are trademark Sears hinges, and that looks like Sears Stratford door handle hardware. If it's not Stratford, then it's Sears Chicago design.
Here's a closeup view, but it's much too blurry for you to see the details... but, those of us with experience picking out these Sears features, will recognize them here:
closeup of door handle hardware and Sears hinge, upstairs bedroom with original Sears doors and Craftsmand trim, inside Sears Silverdale, 111 Cuivre St Old Monroe MO

Let's close out with a few more views of the exterior of the house. Here, you can see the window to the entry vestibule, then the double windows of the dining room, and then the 1940 addition (mentioned in the real estate listing) with its fireplace:
color exterior view of front and side of upstairs bedroom with original Sears doors and Craftsmand trim, inside Sears Silverdale, 111 Cuivre St Old Monroe MO


color photo of wraparound porch, upstairs bedroom with original Sears doors and Craftsmand trim, inside Sears Silverdale, 111 Cuivre St Old Monroe MO
Here's the chamfered lines of the wraparound porch, which distinguish the Sears Silverdale from the "lookalike" models by other companies (read about them here).

To see more images of the interior of the Old Monroe, Missouri, Silverdale, you can visit the real estate listing, which has 73 photos (this takes you to the Realtor.com listing... they usually keep their images up for years, but if they are no longer there, try Googling the address and "Redfin" or "Trulia").

I hope that this house goes to a new family who will appreciate its unique history... and polish up those hardwood floors :) It sits on a spacious lot, and, though in a small (tiny!) town, it is not far from the original state capital, St. Charles, with its historic Main Street, nor too far from St. Louis County and City.

front yard view and front of upstairs bedroom with original Sears doors and Craftsmand trim, inside Sears Silverdale, 111 Cuivre St Old Monroe MO