432 ADAMS STREET
HISTORIC SIGNIFICANCE
432 Adams was built in 1929 for Irvin & Alma Steve by E. W. Chamberlain for a cost of $3,200. The home was built by Irvin’s parents for him and his wife. Irvin worked as a machinist at the Elgin Manufacturing Company. As noted in Rebecca Hunter’s “Elgin, Illinois Sears House Research Project,” the Steve family were able to keep the house during the depression because the bank was willing to accept interest payments only. To help with payments, Alma worked at the 5 and 10 Store. At the time the home was built, Adams was unpaved.
ARCHITECTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
432 Adams Street is a Sears, Roebuck and Company documented built home in the Rodessa Model. It is a nice example of a one-story side gabled clipped roof bungalow with exposed purlins and notched end on barge board.
Sources: Information moved from Steve Stroud’s ElginBungalows.com; Historic Image: Elgin History Museum, Rebecca Hunter: “Elgin, Illinois Sears House Research Project”