Wardway Winthrop Model Home in Pittsburgh, PA

1931 Wardway Winthrop, built by E. B. Hancock, Pittsburgh area district manager of the homes department of Montgomery Ward -- Wardway Homes. His home was offered as a model home, "open for inspection" in August 1931.
Pittsburgh Press, August, 1931

Like Sears, Montgomery Ward's Wardway Homes offered some of the homes that they built, as model homes, "open for inspection" for a few weeks, for the public to see.  One such case is this 1931 Wardway Winthrop, at 4101 Dalewood Street, in the Brentwood area of Pittsburgh.  

And, here is the house!
(Image from Google maps street view)

This particular model home was actually built by the Pittsburgh area District Manager of the homes department of Wardway, E. B. Hancock, to live in with his family.

4101 Dalewood Street, Brentwood Borough of Pittsburgh, PA
(Image from Google maps street view)

An article first appeared in June of 1931, in the Pittsburgh Press, showing the catalog image of the Winthrop, and announcing that construction was "underway" on E. B. Hancock's Wardway home.  On the same page, was a column about Hancock's decision to use Wardway financing to build himself a home, just as he was offering to his clients in the greater Pittsburgh area.

Pittsburgh Press, June 14, 1931

Pittsburgh Press, June 14, 1931

In the interview, Hancock mentions that he and his wife decided that, given the excellent examples of Wardway homes, and the convenience of the Wardway mortgage system, it was the right time for them to act on building their own Wardway home.

Hancock is sure to point out that money from Wardway mortgages goes back into the community,
by helping to pay the salaries of tradesmen working on the homes.
Pittsburgh Press, June 14, 1931

Pittsburgh Press, June 14, 1931

"Home owners do make the best American citizens."
Pittsburgh Press, June 14, 1931

The full ad for the model home, once it was opened to the public, included plenty of information on obtaining more information on Wardway mortgages, and Wardway homes.

This is the bottom half of the big ad, featuring an image of the Hancock family's Wardway Winthrop as the model home.

Here is the Wardway Winthrop, as it appeared in the 1931 Wardway Homes catalog.
This is my own photo of the image shown on page 203 of
 A History and Field Guide to Wardway Homes,
by Dale Wolicki and Rosemary Thornton.

4101 Dalewood St., with its lovely landscaping.
(Image from Google maps street view)

The Wardway Winthrop's floor plan.
(p. 203 of the field guide)

The upper floor had three bedrooms, each with a closet.

From the 1931 Wardway Homes catalog.  1931 was the first year that the Winthrop was offered.

And, it cost $2,312 for the pre-cut materials, ready to build.  As with Sears, I imagine that Wardway offered their services in putting you in touch with a construction company in your area, and allowing you to finance the construction costs, as well. 

From the 1931 catalog.

Here's what came with the Wardway Winthrop, including options, listed below:

From the 1931 catalog.

I don't spend much time working with Wardway homes, so it's a great opportunity to learn about a new model,  when I run across a newspaper mention of a Wardway model home.  My first was the Wardway Devonshire, that I wrote about here.  Now, I can add the Winthrop to my list. Let's finish off with two more views of the Pittsburgh Winthrop: