Historic Preservation Efforts For Mail Order Homes

Joliet, IL is redefining historic preservation by pioneering efforts to preserve mail order homes.

1 minute read

July 17, 2003, 2:00 PM PDT

Joliet is the first city in the United States to create a district of historic mail order homes. Mail-order home "kits" made their debut in 1915, and "revolutionized the housing industry in the early 1900s....The greatest number of these homes were built in the 1920s, before the Depression changed the country's financial landscape." City officials have been supportive of the efforts, including offering a matching grant program for restorative work for catalog homes.

Thanks to Connie Chung

FULL STORY: Joliet sets out to preserve its mail order houses

Sunday, July 13, 2003 in The Chicago Tribune

History / Preservation Illinois

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