Palm Haven Intro and Mission Statement

"The Plaza"

"As a reward for a life of thrift, a woman gained ownership to the spot of land reputed to be the center of the United States. It was well worth her time to search far and wide for a beautiful home design for this enviable location. The center of the United States - the heart of liberty - was deserving of the best. It was unnecessary to say that the home for this location must be rock-ribbed American in architecture.
In the process of elimination which was to determine the suitable design, hundreds were cast aside. Exteriors too plain and interiors too stuffy - was there not one home that would prove suitable? At last the book, Aladdin Homes, was consulted. Carefully the pages were turned, here and there was a house that would possibly do, until at last, the home of them all - the one that fulfilled the wishes and hopes of the owners was found. It was the Plaza. It is a thoroughbred bungalow and bungalow architecture is American.

The very essence of American architecture makes up its attractive lines. The West is portrayed in the beautiful California pergola porch, the East in the interior of the home. The sunny South finds credit in the spacious porch, while the North has loaned the shingled sidewalls representing northern homes in the early days of American history.

If you are interested in making the Plaza your home, write us for the many interesting details you will need before deciding to build."

The above text is from the Aladdin Homes Co. brochure describing the "Plaza" model home design they sold beginning in 1916. Purchasers could order the plans or the whole kit for assembly. The highly successful Aladdin Homes, based in Bay City, Michigan, was founded by brothers Otto and William Sovereign. Otto, the sales and marketing whiz, devised the "dollar-a-knot" promotion that promised $1 for every knot a customer found in their newly shipped red cedar siding. Of course, lumber men laughed at the promotion since red cedar had no knots but the public bought it. The gimmick worked so well that it was expanded to all of their surfaced products.

"The Plaza" design, Aladdin later conceded, was inspired by one of the best known bungalows in Pasadena. The design also bears a remarkable resemblance in plan and facade to 791 Bird Avenue in Palm Haven. But the Palm Haven bungalow carries the more typical California bungalow characteristics of a lower-pitched roof slope. Aladdin must have had to increase the roof pitch so it would function in colder climes where ice and snow could accumulate. The Palm Haven bungalow may have also been inspired by a Pasadena bungalow but remains true to its Californian architectural roots. As America became enamored with the California bungalow style, "The Plaza" turned out to be Aladdin's most popular and enduring model. Thousands were sold to locations along the east coast, midwest, northwest and into Canada for many years.

This particular Palm Haven bungalow is in remarkably good original condition flaunting its wide eaves and care-free California bungalow air. This can be attributed to its long history remaining in the hands of the same family that originally had it built. For the story of the family that built a Palm Haven bungalow whose style has been echoed across North America, CLICK HERE.