Bungalow - Architectural Overview

1004 Western Avenue:

The Seward A. and Florence M. Brown House is an excellent example of an Arts and Crafts bungalow. Although it bears a striking resemblance to the “Ashmore,” a kit house sold between 1916 and 1922 through its mail-order catalog by Sears Roebuck and Company, the house has been determined not to be a Sears kit house. Sears plans for the Ashmore might have been used for the basic design, but exterior and individual room dimensions are slightly different from those of the kit.

Constructed ca. 1924, the 1½ story house faces north. The front façade has a side-gabled roof with a smaller gabled extension capping the front room on the east (left) end. Roofing is asphalt shingle. A small porch is centered on the façade, with a front-gabled roof extension. The gable has a small fixed window with nine panes in an Arts and Crafts pattern. The front door, centered in the porch, has a small nine-paned window in the upper quarter and is flanked by full-length sidelights with similar Arts and Crafts multiple panes. The porch roof is supported on two pairs of half-length rectangular columns atop trapezoidal brick pillars, and two pilasters at the body of the house likewise atop brick pillars. Three decoratively-sawn beam ends extend from the gable above the columns and at the peak to support the deep roof overhang. A half-height brick wall encloses the porch on either side. Four concrete steps rise about two feet from the front walk to the porch deck and the house’s interior.

A trio of Prairie-style stained glass windows, installed by the current owners in 2002, is positioned on either side of the front porch. Those on the right (west) side are one-over-one double-hung sash windows with Arts and Crafts multiple panes in the upper half. Those on the left (east) side are shorter casements with fixed nine-paned transoms above. Both trios have stone sills and a pair of painted wood planters affixed to the house just below the windows.

The east side of the house has five casement windows with nine-paned fixed transoms matching those on the front façade. South of the five windows is a rectangular bay window mounted on brick pillars mirroring those at the front porch. The bay has a shed roof, aluminum siding, and unadorned casement windows, suggesting it was added at a later time.

The upper main gable on the east side has a set of three one-over-one double hung sash windows with nine-paned upper sashes. The deep roof overhang is supported by four large stepped brackets, which appear to be beam ends, matching those of the front porch.

The rear of the house is topped with a peaked roof with the ridge running fore and aft (i.e. north to south) with a rear-facing gable. The ridge extends slightly above the side-to-side ridge of the front portion of the roof, suggesting it was part of an addition. Because bungalows are almost exclusively single-story, it is reasonable to assume the second story was added at a later date.

The west façade has a set of three one-over-one double-hung sash windows on the front (north) portion. Each of the upper sashes of these windows has nine Arts and Crafts panes. The center portion of the façade has a set of three one-over-one double-hung sash windows, but without the multiple upper panes. The rear portion of the façade has a large fixed window bracketed by two small casements. The second floor main gable has a set of three double-hung sash windows with Arts and Crafts multiple panes in the upper sash. Finally, three more double-hung sash windows are located at the rear of the west façade.

A driveway on the east (left) side of the house extends from Western Avenue to a single-car garage attached to the house at the rear of the eastern facade. The garage is not architecturally compatible with the rest of the structure and was likely added to the house at a later time.

659 East Jackson Street:

The Joseph and Anna Skorupa house at 659 East Jackson Street is a south-facing, one-story, Chicago bungalow built in 1930. Siding is dark reddish-brown brick with light-colored stone sills and lintels, and Prairie-style keystone ornamentation. The front façade is dominated by a large bay window with six casement windows facing the front, one on each bevel, and one each facing the right (east) and left (west) sides. Each of these casements is capped with a fixed transom. The glass of each casement and transom is leaded, with distinctive rectangular gold-leaf embellishments. Beneath the windows, stone brackets are built into the brick to support three flower boxes facing the front. Matching stone ornamentation is inset into the brick of the bay’s bevels. Three triple-light windows, in a shallow arch shape, are centered on the bay at the basement level. The hip roof has a fore-and-aft ridge and approximately 18 inch overhangs. A front-facing dormer has four casement windows, each with three vertical lights, sheltered by a clipped roof which gives it an arched shape similar to that of the basement window below.

The entrance door is on the right, or east, side of the building and is protected by a small, arched brick porch, with front-facing concrete steps. The steps are bounded on the east side with a brick railing topped with a broad stone lintel ending in a cylindrical newel.

The east façade has a shallow bay immediately behind (north of) the entry porch, consisting of four three-over-one double-hung sash windows. Further to the rear, two smaller irregularly sized three-over-one double-hung sash windows are spaced, and finally a pair of one-over-one double-hung sash windows at the rear corner. Basement windows glazed with glass block are placed directly below the smaller three-over-one window, and centered at the base of the shallow bay.

The west façade has two pairs of three-over-one double-hung sash windows, and a single double-hung sash window at the rear. A glass block basement window is located below each window set. A tall chimney pierces the roof at the rear (northwest) corner, and a driveway along the west side of the building leads from Jackson Street to the rear of the lot.

705 West Marion Street:

The Louis Lazar House is a one-story, south-facing, end-gable Craftsman-style brick bungalow built in 1919 on a brick foundation. The front entrance door is on the east façade and leads to the enclosed full-width porch. The house has a cut cedar shingle front gable with a single light, exposed bracketing, and ornamental protruding beams.

The porch is supported by one center and two end brick and concrete pillars. The porch windows are three-over-two casement windows. The brown brick façade is inlaid with buff-colored bricks which frame the east and west side windows. A row of buff-colored bricks anchors the house at a line even with the main floor of the house.

The living room fireplace is bracketed by multi-paned windows and the chimney pierces a side gable to the right of the front door. Rectangular projecting bays are located on the east and west façades. A protruding one-story addition is located to the rear of the fireplace. A brick one-car garage is attached to the rear of the building.

900 Raynor Avenue:

The Robert W. and Rilla Harper house is a brick, west-facing, hip-roof bungalow with an enclosed front porch and a single-car garage integrated into the main body of the house. The house sits on a corner lot with the front facing Raynor Avenue and the left (south) side facing Ross Street. All windows are original and have nine-light Arts and Crafts muntin patterns, either in the upper sash of double-hung sash windows, or in casement frames. Also, all windows have stone sills. The front façade contains diamond-shaped stone embellishments inset into the brick, accentuating rectangular patterns built into the brickwork. The center entry is at the top of a set of six concrete steps bordered with stone-capped brick sidewalls. The house was apparently designed to have an open porch on the left (north) half of the front. A set of four casement windows, facing front and to the left of the front entry, and four windows facing north along the left side enclose the porch. These windows match those elsewhere on the house and appear to have been installed at or near the time of original construction. To the right (south) of the entry, a set of three nine-over-one double-hung sash windows facing front and two facing south enclose a small extension of the living room.

A hip-roof dormer is centered above the entry. It contains a set of three square nine-light windows matching the Arts and Crafts muntin patterns on the other windows. The right (south) façade has a coal chute access door below the two double hung windows described above. To the right (east), a pair of small, high fixed windows bracket a brick chimney engaged into the façade and piercing the eave. Basement windows are set directly beneath each of these windows as well. Roughly at the center of the façade is a set of three nine-over-one double-hung sash windows. Directly above is a hip-roof dormer with three square nine-light windows; directly below is a basement window. Further to the rear (east), a pair of small square casements illuminates the kitchen, and another basement window sits directly below.

The south façade is indented at this point to accommodate an east-facing entry located up a flight of six south-facing steps. Further toward the rear, the south façade contains a single-car garage door at grade level with a pair of nine-over-one double-hung sash windows offset to the left above. These windows, and the room they illuminate, are a half-flight up from the main level of the house. The rear (east) façade has a set of four nine-over-one double-hung sash windows at the upper level (a half flight above the main level) and a pair of nine-over-one double-hung sash windows at grade level, illuminating the garage. The north façade faces the south façade of the neighboring house to the north, and is approximately six feet away. It contains, from the front to the back, a set of four casement windows mentioned earlier, a  nine-over-one double-hung sash window, a small nine-over-one double-hung sash window, and a pair of nine-over-one double-hung sash windows. Basement windows are set beneath all but the rear-most pair.

902 Raynor Avenue:

The Theodore F. and Anna D. Latz House is a front- and rear-gabled Arts and Crafts bungalow built of brick. Its roof has open eaves in the Arts and Crafts style. The roof has no dormers. The previous owner, Danica Hrechko, reported to the current owners that the house had been built by Theodore Latz, the first owner.

The building’s perfectly symmetrical west-facing front façade is made uniquely distinctive by its low brick-walled front verandah with a set of five full-width side load steps leading up from each side. The front entry is centered on the façade. The twelve-light door appears to be original, as do the eight-light sidelights on either side. The door is protected by an arched portico supported on heavy wood Arts and Crafts corbels. Two sets of three wood-framed, nine-light casement windows bracket the front door. The lights are in the distinctive Arts and Crafts style, with one very large pane in the center of the sash, surrounded by long, narrow panes. The windows’ height matches that of the front door and its sidelights. A trio of smaller, similarly styled windows is centered above the entry and immediately below the roof peak. Stone sills are set beneath all windows, and a stone cap tops the wall fronting the verandah. All windows appear to be original, as do the wood-frame storm windows. The fore-and-aft ridged roof extends approximately two feet beyond the brick façade and is supported by five large Arts and Crafts corbels. The underside of the roof overhang and the underside of the portico are natural-finish bead board.

The right, or south-facing, façade contains, from front to back, a nine-over one double-hung sash window with a basement window directly beneath; a brick chimney engaged into the façade and piercing the eave; another nine-over-one double-hung sash window, a pair of similarly-sized nine-over-one double-hung sash windows, and a small, high, fixed single-pane window. A pair of basement windows is set roughly at the center of this façade. The nine-light upper sash windows are in the Arts and Crafts style found on the front casements, and on all upper sashes elsewhere on the house.

The rear, or east-facing, façade contains a small nine-over-one double-hung sash window on the left (south) half, a pair of large nine-over-one double-hung sash windows very slightly left of center a half-flight higher, and another nine-over-one double-hung sash window on the right (north) half of the façade. A grade-level rear door is below the pair of windows and set slightly to the right (north). Like the front façade, the roof overhang is supported by Arts and Crafts corbels, and all windows have stone sills.

The north (left) façade faces a driveway shared with the neighbor to the north; the driveway leads to garages at the rear of the properties. The façade contains, from front to back, a single nine-over-one double-hung sash window, a small nine-over-one double-hung sash window, a paired set of nine-over-one double-hung sash windows, and a single nine-over-one double-hung sash window. Below, a coal chute access door is set near the front (west), and three basement windows are evenly spaced across the rest of the façade.

A two-car garage is located at the back of the lot, facing the front. It is constructed of the same style brick as that of the house, and with a front- and rear-gabled roof and open eaves like that of the house. The front façade contains a large double-sized overhead door with a three-pane fixed window centered beneath the roof ridge. The right, or south, façade, contains two six-pane fixed windows more or less evenly spaced on the façade. The rear, or east, façade faces the alley and contains two evenly spaced six-pane fixed windows and a three-pane fixed window centered below the roof ridge. The north façade contains no openings. A narrow passageway separates this garage from that of the neighbor to the north and provides pedestrian access to the alley.

1010 Glenwood Avenue:

The Vernette Wraith house is a north-facing, one-story, Craftsman/Prairie bungalow built in 1924. Clad in light tan brick over a concrete foundation, the house has a side-gabled, east-west ridge roof sloping low to cover the front porch on the right (west) side, and a front-gabled dormer on the left (east) side of the front façade. The dormer’s face is contiguous with and part of the front façade. A chimney rises from the left (east) side of the house near the front.

The front (north) façade is dominated by the open porch spanning two-thirds of the house’s width on the right (west) side. The extension of the main roof covering the porch is supported on two large brick piers capped with stone lintels. Heavy, exposed beams rest on the piers and support the roof in the Craftsman/Prairie style. The porch is surrounded on the left (east) and front (north) by a half-height brick wall extending about three feet beyond the roof and topped with a stone lintel. The porch floor is red tile. Four side-load steps rise from the driveway on the right (west) side of the lot to the porch. The main entry door faces north and is near the right (west) end of the front façade. The door contains a large rectangular window in its top third, with Prairie-style muntins in a nine-light pattern. The bottom of the door contains two vertical panels. The door is of natural oak, appears to be original, and is in excellent condition. It is bracketed with Prairie-style wall-mounted lanterns on either side. To the left (east of the door), is a high, horizontal, fixed window with nine-lights in the Prairie style. Further left (east) and beyond the porch, a nine-over-one double-hung sash window is centered under the gable at the first floor level. There are no windows in attic portion.

The right (west) façade consists of the four steps rising to the porch at the front, a bank of three nine-over-one double-hung sash windows about three feet toward the rear (south), then a two-foot bump-out covered with a small shed roof containing a bank of three windows: a large nine-over-one double-hung sash window flanked by two smaller nine-over-one double-hung sash windows. Further south and beyond the bump-out are a pair of nine-over-one double-hung sash windows, and, at the southernmost end of the façade, an additional pair of nine-over-one double-hung sash windows. At the attic level, centered under the ridge, is a semicircular window.

The rear (south) façade contains an entry door roughly centered on the façade, a small, high nine-over-one double-hung sash window near the left (west) side, and a larger nine-over-one double-hung sash to the right of the door. A small horizontal basement window is located beneath the west window.

The east façade contains an engaged chimney for a fireplace near the front. Five evenly spaced windows span the façade between the rear and the chimney. Moving from left to right, the first, third, and fourth are of the same size, and the second and fifth are smaller. The first four are nine-over-one double-hung sash windows; the fifth, plus an identical one to the right (north) of the chimney, are nine-light casements bracketing the fireplace. At the attic level, a semicircular window is centered beneath the ridge.

The non-contributing two-car garage is situated behind the house. The driveway is el-shaped, and the garage entry faces west. The overhead garage door is covered with a removable façade containing a service door on the left (north) and two one-over-one double-hung sash windows on the right.

506 North Prairie Avenue:

The Frederick R. Hollander House is a 1 ½ story, Craftsman Bungalow style structure built in 1926 on a concrete block foundation. The structure, designed by noted Joliet architect Herbert Cowell, is distinguished by a raised, full-width open front patio covered by an end-gable, front portico with Craftsman detailing, and two pairs of fluted, Tuscan columns. The open beam supports and applied board trim of the porch contribute to the Arts and Crafts influence seen in the porch design and the rear dormer. The structure has a centrally-placed six-light, beveled front door flanked by eight-light beveled sidelights. The front façade has paired, six-over-one double-hung windows on each side of the front door. A one story sun porch is located on the south side of the house and all windows on the structure include upper sashes in the multi-light Craftsman style, and Bedford stone sills. A Bedford stone drip groove is also found on the structure. A contributing frame, one-car, detached garage is located to the south of the main structure.

900 Caton Avenue:

The Julius J. Gross House is a medium brown brick, 1 ½ story Craftsman Bungalow/ Prairie style structure built in 1928 on a cement block foundation. The structure retains its original nine-light wood casement windows and original wood front door. The front façade is distinguished by an end gable, enclosed front porch with decorative brackets in the Craftsman style. A shed dormer with a long, rectangular fixed multi-light window projects from the main body of the roof, further contributing to the Craftsman style. A contributing, detached, brick, two-car garage is located at the rear of the property.