A Competitive Home Design for the 'Common Woman'
This collection represents part of the work of a prominent, nationally known, social activist in the early 20th century, Caroline Bartlett Crane. She designed an efficient home plan for the common man (especially the common woman) in the 1920s. It was the national winner of Herbert Hoover's Better Homes of America campaign in 1924. She then had the house built in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She wrote a book, which is included in the collection, about how the design helps the family in their daily life. The house is a present day private home. The digitized collection is an interesting mix of letters, photographs, blueprints, and the book which are all searchable. The collection consists of approximately 40 items around the topic.
For more information about Caroline Bartlett Crane, a figure in Kalamazoo, Michigan's early history, see her biography link above. The original, larger collection on Crane is housed at the Western Michigan University Archives and Regional History Collections, home page. There are many more items on other work by Caroline Bartlett Crane in the traditional collection.
Two boys reading in bedroom
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