🧱 Why Are There So Many Brick Bungalows in Chicago (and Why You Secretly Want One)

Nov 7

Back in the day, Chicago wasn’t all jazz clubs and Tommy guns — it was smoke, sweat, and ambition. Streetcars rattled down muddy avenues, sinking wooden sidewalks creaked underfoot, the stockyards perfumed the air, and immigrant families were busy laying the very bricks that built the city itself. They weren’t just chasing stability—they were crafting Chicago’s backbone, one sturdy bridge and bungalow at a time.

🏙️ The Birth of the Bungalow Belt

That dream gave rise to what we now lovingly call the Bungalow Belt, a sweeping arc of solid, cozy, no-nonsense homes that stretch from Rogers Park to Beverly. These bungalows weren’t just houses—they were statements: affordable, practical, and proudly Chicago.

📸 Image Block (Full Width)
A classic Chicago bungalow on a tree-lined street, golden-hour light.
Alt text: Historic Chicago brick bungalow in the Bungalow Belt.

🌿 From Crowded Flats to the Good Life (With a Lawn!)

At the turn of the 20th century, working-class Chicagoans—Polish, Irish, Italian, Swedish, and more—were looking to trade their crowded two-flats and tenements for something they could call their own.

Enter the Chicago-style bungalow: a single-family brick home with a basement, a sunroom, a front porch perfect for people-watching, and just enough yard for a tomato garden and a grill.

Developers pounced on the idea. Between 1910 and 1930, tens of thousands of these bungalows popped up like prairie onions along new streetcar lines. They formed a kind of architectural necklace around the city—the now-famous Bungalow Belt (Pacyga, 2003).

🧰 Building and Selling the Dream

Once the bungalows were built, an army of real estate brokers, developers, and street-smart salesmen hit the pavement to sell them — and sell they did. Many were small local builders who became neighborhood legends, like Albert J. Schorsch, who filled Irving Park with rows of handsome brick bungalows, and George C. Hield, who oversaw hundreds more across Belmont Cragin. On the west side, the Stolzner Construction Company partnered with architect Joseph Klafter to craft entire blocks of Wrightwood Avenue, while H. Brown, Edward H. Olsen, and Henry Van Vooren shaped the early streets of West Ridge and Falconer.

These weren’t faceless developers — they were craftsmen and entrepreneurs who understood the hopes of working-class families. They advertised in newspapers and plastered streetcars with promises of “modern homes for the working man,” complete with payment plans that made ownership possible. Back then, a brand-new Chicago bungalow could cost anywhere from $3,500 to $6,000 — roughly $60,000 to $120,000 today — a reachable dream for a factory worker or a city clerk. Banks offered low down payments and easy terms, and immigrant families — who once thought a front yard was a luxury — were suddenly holding deeds. These attainable opportunities created a foundation for generations, turning once transient city dwellers into lifelong Chicagoans and anchoring entire neighborhoods in pride, permanence, and brick.

🧤 The Dream of the Working Class

Buying one of these bungalows wasn’t just a real estate flex—it was a life upgrade. It meant a bit of elbow room, maybe a front lawn to mow on Sunday, and the pride of finally being a homeowner.

These homes became symbols of stability for families moving up the economic ladder (Bigott, 2001). Sociologists like Ernest Burgess even used the Bungalow Belt to explain how cities grew—each new ring of development pushing further outward, with homeowners chasing a bit more space and a lot more quiet (Keating, 2008).

Walk through neighborhoods like Irving Park, Garfield Ridge, Portage Park, or West Lawn, and you’ll still see the craftsmanship and care that went into these homes. Many were built by immigrant masons who left their signature in the brickwork—literally.

“Sunday mass, block parties, homemade kielbasa, and corned beef hash—it was a slice of the American dream wrapped in Chicago grit.”
— Keating, 1988

🏗️ What the Bungalow Belt Can Teach Us About Building a Better Chicago

The Bungalow Belt isn’t just a nostalgic stretch of brick homes — it’s a living lesson in how smart, community-driven urban design can shape a city for generations.

Each block is walkable, family-friendly, and filled with neighbors who actually know each other. There’s a rhythm and humility to that kind of planning that today’s sprawling developments and luxury towers sometimes lack.

Chicago stands at a crossroads — redefining what progress should look like in a city built by everyday people. Rising costs and shrinking green space remind us that development must evolve beyond profit to purpose. The Bungalow Belt shows us a different blueprint: one where housing is inclusive, sustainable, and centered on community well-being.

It proves that growth can be equitable, beauty can be functional, and design grounded in accessibility and belonging can move an entire city forward.

📸 Image Block (Half Width, Float Right)
A black-and-white image of early Chicago builders or families in front of a bungalow.
Alt text: Immigrant builders posing by newly constructed Chicago bungalow.

🧱 Preserving the Belt

Fast-forward a century, and the Bungalow Belt is still alive and kicking.

Organizations like the Historic Chicago Bungalow Association help homeowners maintain that classic charm while keeping up with the times—solar panels, insulation, the works (Karamanski, 2010).

And let’s be honest: no matter how many new condos pop up downtown, there’s something unbeatable about those classic brick beauties with their sun-dappled front rooms and a whiff of lawn mower in the air.

💸 The Market Still Loves a Classic

Even in today’s fast-changing real estate landscape, the Chicago bungalow hasn’t lost its shine.

According to listing data from platforms like Redfin, more than 1,900 bungalow-style homes sold across the city in the past year alone — and when you zoom out to 2020, that adds up to an estimated 8,000 to 10,000 sales citywide.

That’s not nostalgia — that’s staying power. It shows that even in a market obsessed with new builds and sleek condos, Chicagoans still crave the craftsmanship, character, and sense of community that these homes were built on.

They’re not just holding value — they’re holding history.

“Hey, grab a beer, meet me in the garage.”

Because in Chicago, a bungalow isn’t just a home—it’s a lifestyle. It’s generations building a future, one 30-foot lot at a time.

It’s the backbone of Chicago—built by the people, for the people, and still standing strong a century later.

Not Another Realtor™
Hyperlocal. Fully Licensed. Judgment-Free(ish).

📚 References

Sarah McLennon