1900s - 1930s

Economic and demographic booms in California, in particular Los Angeles between 1900 and 1910 and after the 1906 earthquake in the San Francisco area, spawned the building of thousands of new homes. Simple and relatively inexpensive stock plan bungalows provided the average family an opportunity to afford their own house.

Few houses were built during World War I, but returning soldiers, thousands of new immigrants, and the financial growth of the “roaring 20s” resulted in a demand for even more houses. During the Great Depression of the 1930s the Federal Deposit Insurance System, the Home Owners Loan Corporation, and the Federal Housing Administration were created to deal with the problem of thousands of defaulted loans and to make home loans available for more people.

As the dream of homeownership became a reality for a larger segment of the American population, companies like Sears & Roebuck, Montgomery Ward, and As the dream of homeownership became a reality for a larger segment of the American population, companies like Sears & Roebuck, Montgomery Ward, and Aladdin sold house plans and complete house kits by mail.

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