The Aladdin Company, Bay City Michigan
Encyclopedia
The Aladdin Company was a pioneer in the pre-cut, mail order home industry. Its primary competitors were Montgomery Ward
and Sears, Roebuck and Company
. Aladdin began operations in 1906 and ceased operations in 1987.
after W. J. observed the success of the Brooks Boat Mfg. Co. in selling knock-down boats. The company began by selling boat houses, garages
and summer cottages.
was largely developed by the DuPont Company
using Aladdin homes. In 1917 Aladdin shipped 252 houses to Birmingham
, England
for the Austin Motor Company
who built Austin Village
to house workers for munitions, tank and aircraft manufacture during World War I
.
, and never recovered. The company continued to produce catalogues, and maintained sales of a few hundred homes per year through the 1960s. During the 1970s sales fell further and by 1982 the company ceased manufacturing. The company ceased all operations in 1987.
. They also made key advancements in the prefabrication
of housing which would enable the post-war housing boom. Finally, they helped to propagate nationwide preferences for common architectural style
s such as the Craftsman, Bungalow
, Four-Square and Cape Cod
homes.
Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
and Sears, Roebuck and Company
Sears Holdings Corporation
Sears Holdings Corporation is a retail conglomerate formed in 2005 by the merger of Sears, Roebuck and Co., of Hoffman Estates, Illinois, with Kmart Holdings Corporation, of Troy, Michigan...
. Aladdin began operations in 1906 and ceased operations in 1987.
Company Origins
Aladdin was founded by two brothers, W. J. Sovereign and O. E. Sovereign in Bay City, MichiganBay City, Michigan
Bay City is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and is the principal city of the Bay City Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Saginaw-Bay City-Saginaw Township North...
after W. J. observed the success of the Brooks Boat Mfg. Co. in selling knock-down boats. The company began by selling boat houses, garages
Garage (house)
A residential garage is part of a home, or an associated building, designed or used for storing a vehicle or vehicles. In some places the term is used synonymously with "carport", though that term normally describes a structure that is not completely enclosed.- British residential garages:Those...
and summer cottages.
Boom Years
Aladdin quickly expanded to become one of, if not the, largest mail-order house companies. By 1915 sales surpassed one million dollars. In 1918 Aladdin alone accounted for 2.37 percent of all housing starts in the United States, around 1,800 homes. The company's greatest success came from sales to industries which constructed company towns around new plants, mines and mills. The town of Hopewell, VirginiaHopewell, Virginia
Hopewell is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The population was 22,591 at the 2010 Census . It is in Tri-Cities area of the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area...
was largely developed by the DuPont Company
DuPont
E. I. du Pont de Nemours and Company , commonly referred to as DuPont, is an American chemical company that was founded in July 1802 as a gunpowder mill by Eleuthère Irénée du Pont. DuPont was the world's third largest chemical company based on market capitalization and ninth based on revenue in 2009...
using Aladdin homes. In 1917 Aladdin shipped 252 houses to Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
for the Austin Motor Company
Austin Motor Company
The Austin Motor Company was a British manufacturer of automobiles. The company was founded in 1905 and merged in 1952 into the British Motor Corporation Ltd. The marque Austin was used until 1987...
who built Austin Village
Austin Village
Austin Village is a World War I housing estate of prefabs between Longbridge and Northfield, Birmingham, England.Herbert Austin, who created the Austin Motor Company at Longbridge in 1905, had to take on more workers during the First World War when his factory became involved in making tanks and...
to house workers for munitions, tank and aircraft manufacture during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Decline
Aladdin's output fell below 1000 homes in 1928 on the eve of the Great DepressionGreat Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
, and never recovered. The company continued to produce catalogues, and maintained sales of a few hundred homes per year through the 1960s. During the 1970s sales fell further and by 1982 the company ceased manufacturing. The company ceased all operations in 1987.
Contributions
The Aladdin company, along with other catalogue-home businesses played a key role in providing affordable housing to Americans in the period between the turn of the twentieth century and World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. They also made key advancements in the prefabrication
Prefabrication
Prefabrication is the practice of assembling components of a structure in a factory or other manufacturing site, and transporting complete assemblies or sub-assemblies to the construction site where the structure is to be located...
of housing which would enable the post-war housing boom. Finally, they helped to propagate nationwide preferences for common architectural style
Architectural style
Architectural styles classify architecture in terms of the use of form, techniques, materials, time period, region and other stylistic influences. It overlaps with, and emerges from the study of the evolution and history of architecture...
s such as the Craftsman, Bungalow
Bungalow
A bungalow is a type of house, with varying meanings across the world. Common features to many of these definitions include being detached, low-rise , and the use of verandahs...
, Four-Square and Cape Cod
Cape Cod (house)
A Cape Cod cottage is a style of house originating in New England in the 17th century. It is traditionally characterized by a low, broad frame building, generally a story and a half high, with a steep, pitched roof with end gables, a large central chimney and very little ornamentation...
homes.