The "Wilshire" House

Arcadia's Award-Winning Ranch

In 1957, American Home Magazine sponsored a national competition to elect America’s “Best Home for the Money in Michigan.” A fashionable ranch-style home built in Kalamazoo’s Arcadia Neighborhood was voted by a board of seven national experts from the construction industry as the winner for the state of Michigan in its price bracket. It was then submitted as a ‘citation house’ for the national contest, voted upon by those who visited the selected homes across the nation.

Located at 1136 Berkshire Drive, the home, dubbed the “Wilshire” was built by local firm Albert-Satin with the interior designed by Artcraft Interiors and celebrated designer Paul McCobb. The architects chosen for the project were Security Home Supply Company. The cost to build the modern ‘citation’ house, including the lot, came to $27,400, but the retail price for a potential buyer was listed $5000 less. Some of the modern home’s “interesting extras” included tap-type electrical switches, and an intercom system designed for both listening to music or for making announcements. The home was marketed as an affordable path toward the suburbs, a trend in urban migration patterns common throughout the nation after World War II, when a housing boom occurred.

“A House Full of Ideas”

“This Citation Award house in Kalamazoo, Michigan is made to order for an active young family of four or five in the middle-income group. The selling price is about $27,400 with 1,344 square feet of living area plus the lot, landscaping, driveway, full basement and all the extras and built-ins.

The exterior is a pleasant combination of clean, sharp modern lines and Colonial trim and details. The wide overhangs keep out the unwanted high summer sun and yet let in the warmth of the low winter sun. Inside, the large glass areas and open ceiling lend an airy, cheerful atmosphere. The living, dining and kitchen areas of the house make up the “family center” where everyone gathers during meal preparation to watch TV, play table games, and talk. Convenient to the kitchen and family room is the patio. It’s screened from the street by a planting wall of redwood and stone.”

–from a promotional advertisement in the Kalamazoo Gazette, 23 June 1957

Written by Ryan Gage, Kalamazoo Public Library staff, October 2024