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Built in 1929, Roberta Reed’s Crystal Lake home came from a box.
The house, located at 215 Illinois St., near the city’s downtown, is representative of the Barrington model of Sears kit homes, said Reed, who decided to apply for landmark status for the house after more than 50 years of calling it home.
The house, which includes such features as a built-in telephone nook and drop-down ironing board, received a thumbs up last week from the Crystal Lake Historical Preservation Commission and will go before the City Council later this month for final approval.
Reed and her late husband, Ron, first purchased the home in 1967 for roughly $13,500, Reed said.
“Inside, there was a stone fireplace in the living room, which we found quite charming,” Reed said. “It just seemed like a good fit for us at the time.”
The Reeds’ daughter, Emily Reed, now a teacher in Northbrook, said she always thought it was cool to have grown up in an “antique home” even when a lot of her friends lived in newer models.
“There were these crystal doorknobs, a full basement and an attic,” she said. “There were lots of places to explore; it always seemed very fancy and charming. There’s something very nostalgic about the neighborhood, and Crystal Lake in general.”
The home also still had its original cedar shake siding, Roberta Reed said.
The previous owners, the Granthams, moved across the street, she said, and would “watch the house,” even calling to let the Reeds know when they left the attic light on by accident.
Roberta described the neighborhood as a “welcoming and diverse community of people,” who did neighborly things like “shoveling each other’s driveways.” Now 86, Roberta is one of the oldest residents on the block.
They first got the idea to apply for landmark status after attending an informational meeting by the historical society earlier this year, both women said. They spent a good part of the summer researching about the Barrington models and learning more about the history of the house.
The Sears models were among the kits shipped across the country to be assembled onsite, with pieces labeled like today’s Ikea furniture, according to preservation commission documents.
Roughly two dozen similar “kit” homes are clustered around the downtown Crystal Lake area, close to the Metra station, where the kits would have been delivered, said Diana Kenney, president of the Crystal Lake Historical Society.
If the City Council approves the landmark status, the Reeds will receive a plaque for the house and the historical society will organize a small ceremony for them in the coming months or early next spring, Emily Reed said.