page_title: Kit houses in Michigan
hierarchical_section_title: Kit houses in Michigan
caption_attribution_description: English: Advertisement for knocked down kits for houses, in Popular Mechanics, May 1908.
context_page_description: Kit houses in Michigan were a type of housing that was largely developed in the US state of Michigan throughout the first half of the 20th century. Michigan was home to the Aladdin Company, the first and longest-lived manufacturer of kit houses in North America, who had sales "in every part of the world, from Saskatchewan to Tahiti". Lewis and Sterling, two other major manufacturers of kit houses, were also based in Michigan.
  Starting with Aladdin's simple knock-down models, these kit houses quickly evolved into full-size homes that were based on the architectural styles of the period. Unlike pre-fabricated homes, these homes were shipped in thousands of individual parts that had to be constructed on-site. The introduction of pre-cut lumber pieces helped to expedite the construction process. Shipping pre-cut home parts across the United States, these companies turned Michigan into the "center of kit-home manufacturing". Examples of the homes manufactured by these companies and other kit house manufacturers like Sears, Gordon-Van Tine and Wardway can be found in communities across the state of Michigan.
context_section_description: Kit houses in Michigan were a type of housing that was largely developed in the US state of Michigan throughout the first half of the 20th century. Michigan was home to the Aladdin Company, the first and longest-lived manufacturer of kit houses in North America, who had sales "in every part of the world, from Saskatchewan to Tahiti". Lewis and Sterling, two other major manufacturers of kit houses, were also based in Michigan.
  Starting with Aladdin's simple knock-down models, these kit houses quickly evolved into full-size homes that were based on the architectural styles of the period. Unlike pre-fabricated homes, these homes were shipped in thousands of individual parts that had to be constructed on-site. The introduction of pre-cut lumber pieces helped to expedite the construction process. Shipping pre-cut home parts across the United States, these companies turned Michigan into the "center of kit-home manufacturing". Examples of the homes manufactured by these companies and other kit house manufacturers like Sears, Gordon-Van Tine and Wardway can be found in communities across the state of Michigan. These include clusters of homes and rare models that are notable in the history of kit houses, the oldest of which are now over 100 years old.
caption: Aladdin advert in Popular Mechanics, 1908
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