by Margaret Riddle
The Donovan homes were built at a time when there was strong national interest in creating more
affordable housing, including the “Better Homes in America” program which was established in 1921
during the Hoover administration. That year a national depression brought housing construction to a
halt and with home ownership declining, it was hoped that the program would lead to the building of
more moderate sized homes, marketed to middle class families.
Sears, Roebuck and Co. had led the way in this movement, offering “Honor Bilt, Modern Homes” – kit
houses — as early as 1908. Their popularity reached a peak in the 1920s. Traditional in design, these
houses were purchased through the company’s catalog. Building materials were shipped by rail to a
building site where they could be constructed in only a few months. A number of Sears kit houses were
built in Everett.
Local realtor and builder Edward Donovan had his own plan to provide affordable homes, one that
greatly changed Everett’s character. Donovan built nearly 160 single-family moderate-sized homes in
the 1920s and early 1930s. Using quality materials and traditional designs, he and his partners
incorporated similar exterior and interior features in these homes while allowing each a unique
character. Emphasis was on quality construction using quality materials.
The 1930s Great Depression brought an even greater need for affordable housing, but unfortunately
due to the devastating economy, most construction stopped. Edward Donovan’s daughter recalled that
during this time her father closed his business and, according to the Polk’s city directory for Everett, he
became Superintendent of the City Street and Sewer Department. Edward Donovan died in 1937 at the
age of 62.
Moving some of the Donovan homes
In 1985 a city survey of historic properties included a group of Donovan homes, officially placed on the
Everett Register in 1998. Over the years Providence Medical Center had purchased a number of the
Donovan properties with plans to expand. When expansion time came, Providence offered these homes
for free to anyone who would move them. Eleven homes in the district were razed but local contractor and builder Peter Hager successfully saved a remaining 11 by moving them to a new location he created
called Donovan Lane, a five-block area east and south of the hospital.
Hager retained the homes original features –their Bungalow or Tudor exteriors, their unique fireplaces,
white oak floors, granite-tiled bathrooms, leaded window glass and “picture rails” above the plaster
walls — while at the same time updating with bedroom carpets and modernizing kitchens. All were
reroofed and garages added. Hager’s painstakingly long hours of restoration, a true labor of love, was
honored with a William F. Brown award given by the Everett Historical Commission in 2008.
To see these homes today, take Broadway to 12th Street, turn east and then right onto
Donovan Lane. The Donovans lived at 2301 Highland Ave in the Riverside neighborhood by 1916.
