A few days ago, I posted on the DCHouseSmarts blog about the two pretty historic kit houses we’d located for the weekend — with the promise to give a little more detail on at least one of them later on. So, here we go, with the 1936 Sears “Colchester”/”Lewiston” that’s currently for sale in Silver Spring, MD.  (Click on the image of the catalog page to get a larger version.)

It’s a delightful place, with lots of space (two bedrooms and a full bath on each of the three floors) and a lovely, large backyard. While some modifications have been made (the kitchen for instance was opened up to the dining room for a more airy feel) that you can either love or hate, there is plenty of original detail left.

The original door hardware that shipped with the “Colchester” (including the LION brand front door lock) can be found on almost all of the doors in the house. You can see some samples, paired with original catalog pages from 1932,  in the slide show below. We don’t always find such things, but when we do, they surely help to authenticate a house. (More below the break.)

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The “Colchester” was the 1930s brick/half-timbered version of the “Lewiston,” a plank-sided model that had been popular in the 1920s. The Colchester offerd a little more of the Tudor-style optic that was a great hit at the time, at least in the DC area.

You can see the listing here, and many more pictures from the MLS here. The house is offered at $489,000, and as always, if you would like to see it, just let me know!

Find more about historic kit houses here, or learn the sad story of  another “Lewiston” here.