Chicago's Ubiquitous Housing Type Turns 100

As Chicago's population surged in the second decade of the 20th century, one dominant single-family housing type spread across the city. Over the next year the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association will celebrate these distinctive homes.

1 minute read

January 7, 2014, 7:00 AM PST

By Jonathan Nettler @nettsj


Chicago Bungalows

David Wilson / Flickr

"Other places have their bungalows -- California, Michigan, Milwaukee," observes Robin Amer. "But in Chicago a bungalow has come to mean a single-family home, one-and-a-half stories tall, longer than it is wide, built between 1910 and 1940. It is made of brick -- yellow ochre, russet, deep red, whatever -- usually with stone trim. It has a low-pitched roof with overhanging eaves, a full basement and a front entrance that's set off to the side."

"There are more than 80,000 bungalows in Chicago, making them a critical part of the city's architectural landscape as well as accounting for 'nearly one-third of the city's single-family housing stock,'" adds Amer. 

With a series of exhibitions to be held this spring, the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association will celebrate the 100th birthday of the city's ubiquitous housing type. 

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