“Chicago is rightly celebrated as the skyscraper’s birthplace. But another architectural achievement wasn’t recognized, even locally, until recently.
“The humble bungalow made it possible for Chicagoans to realize the American Dream of home ownership. In the first part of the 20th century, between 80,000 and 100,000 bungalows were built in Cook County. The majority went up between the end of World War I and the beginning of the Great Depression, making many about 100 years old. Many were home to first-generation immigrants. They formed an arc around the city’s center known as the Bungalow Belt.
“It ‘stretches all around the city, from South Shore to Marquette Park, out west to Austin to the Northwest Side and West Rogers Park,’ Dominic Pacyga, a Columbia College urbanologist, told the Tribune in 2000.
“Buying a Chicago bungalow meant a family was moving into the middle class and putting down roots. More recently, first-time purchases are dubbed ‘starter homes.’ Occupants anticipate moving to larger homes as children are born.
“In its golden age, the bungalow provided space for a growing family. For renters, buying a bungalow would instead build equity, the Arthur T. McIntosh company promised in a Jan. 20, 1925 Tribune advertisement.
“‘We will build this house, with roofs, fireplace, electric fixtures, Heatrola Furnace, all rooms decorated, cement block foundation, on terms of $500 cash and $40 per month,’ the ad promised.
“Its description as a 1½ story structure might have mystified out-of-towners. But Chicagoans knew a bungalow had an attic and a basement where bedrooms or additional living spaces could be added.
“‘Chicago’s lots ranged from 25 feet to 35 feet wide. Architects had to parsimoniously dole out space inside or alongside a bungalow. That dictated a floor plan without the hallways that usually join rooms. Instead, only a doorway separated the living room from a bedroom, and joined other rooms back-to-back, a design called ‘railroading’ because it resembled an engine pulling passenger cars.
“‘In 2000, Chicago belatedly recognized the bungalow as the skyscraper’s equal in historic importance. The city’s Bungalow Initiative provided protection for its aging stock of 1 ½ story homes. Someone who wanted to rehab or buy one could get financial assistance. In announcing the program, Mayor Richard M. Daley gave it his personal endorsement.
“’And for those of us who were raised in them,’ Daley said, ‘bungalows will always occupy a place in our hearts.’” (Grossman, Chicago Tribune, 3/4/5)