Chicago's Ubiquitous Housing Type Turns 100

"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.