Stucco Bungalows of West Ridge

These are some of my favorite examples of a cluster of stucco bungalows along N. Maplewood and N. Campbell Avenues.  They were permitted in 1919 by Chicago architect/developer Niels Buck just as the formerly rural West Ridge neighborhood began to urbanize.

Niels Buck (1866-1928) was no stranger to speculative development.  A Danish immigrant who had trained near Copenhagen as a cabinetmaker, he picked up his architectural knowledge while working in the building industry. In 1893, he began his own practice, primarily focusing on multi-family apartments and single-family homes in the Edgewater and Uptown areas. But I believe his greatest contribution to the city was developing groups of high-quality affordable housing in the 1910s.  

Buck's first large-scale development was a cluster of 36 frame bungalows in the Edgewater neighborhood completed in 1915. Most of them are still there, bounded by W. Bryn Mawr, N. Ravenswood., the alley north of W. Olive, and N. Hermitage.  Like many early Chicago developers, Buck & Co. offered homes on the installment plan.  One could buy a two-bedroom home with a porch for a $300 downpayment, and a monthly cost of $15, plus interest.  In a time before standardized mortgages, community builders were a path to homeownership for many working-class families.

Even before the homes were sold Buck was on to another development one mile north in Rogers Park.  This was a group of 50 bungalows on Arthur Ave. between Clark St. and Ravenwood Ave. For these homes Buck & Co. had switched from frame construction to fireproof construction. These two- and three-bedroom homes were priced at $4,400 to $5,500 and required a downpayment of $300 to $500.  I wrote about these in a previous blog, which you can read here. 

In a 1915 article in Building Age, Buck explains how he made fireproof construction cost-comparable to frame houses.  Buying large amounts of building materials let him save money through economies of scale, while building very similar homes created an experienced crew that required minimal supervision.  In addition, new modern building materials simplified construction details without sacrificing quality. Two floor plans were available- one with five rooms, and one with six.  All incorporated at least one porch. Buck even gave some thought to harmonious colors, offering buyers stucco in white, gray, lemon and brown and a choice between dark red, green, or slate gray asphalt shingles. 

After their Rogers Park project, Buck and Co. became even busier.  In 1919, they advertised thirty more bungalows in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood, on a block bounded by W. Diversey, N. Cicero, W. Parker, and N. Kilpatrick Avenues.  These are nearly identical to the tile-and-stucco homes developed on Arthur, down to the geometric timber patterns on the stucco. 

In 1921, Buck and Co. advertised 100 new homes in the Portage Park area, within a site bounded by W. Berenice, N. Central, W. Waveland, and N. Linder Avenues. For this development, they returned to their earlier frame construction, with minimal variation in facade or massing. 

And finally, we make it to West Ridge!  In 1923, advertisements appeared for the stucco bungalows on Maplewood and Campbell Avenues.  These 30 homes were permitted in 1919, so they were likely available earlier. Niels utilized the tile-and-stucco construction here.  Perhaps he believed the demand would be strong near the developing Western and Devon commercial district, which had benefited from the expanding streetcar network.

The Campbell/Maplewood development appears to be Buck & Co.'s last large-scale project.  They remained active in real estate transactions, but the construction side of the business seems to have begun to wind down.  A few years later, Niels Buck passed away at age 62, leaving behind hundreds of small homes that still add to the city's affordable housing supply.

Buck and Co. Developments.

Selected Sources

Leroy Blommaert and Marsha Holland.  Edgewater Historical Society Webpage, "Niels Buck, Edgewater Architect."  https://www.edgewaterhistory.org/ehs/local/Niels-Buck-Edgewater-Architect.

Accessed 10/1/26.

Who's Who in Chicago. United States: A.N. Marquis & Company, 1926.

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Who_s_who_in_Chicago/dTDTAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=niels%20buck%201926&pg=PA135&printsec=frontcover

Building Age. United States: David Williams Company, 1915.

https://www.google.com/books/edition/Building_Age/5t4-AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=niels%20buck%20building%20age&pg=RA11-PA31&printsec=frontcover

"Niels Buck and Herman Becker to Construct Homes Costing $250,000 on Ashland Avenue," Chicago Tribune, December 12, 1914, 18. https://www.newspapers.com/image/354960041/

"Obituary - Niels Buck," Chicago Tribune, June 17, 1928, 13.

https://www.newspapers.com/image/354870072/

Stucco Bungalows on Arthur, 1915

Figure 1. Fifty Stucco Bungalows on Arthur Avenue

I've written several posts about collections of homes planned, designed, and built by early developers in the neighborhood.  These range from a few identical cottages to more complex arrangements.  These small-scale developments are found throughout Chicago, and their quiet existence probably accounts for most of the city's small-scale speculative residential development.

On the block of Arthur Avenue, with Clark Street to the east and the Union Pacific Railroad embankment on the west, stands an impressive collection of modest stucco bungalows built in 1915. Permit records show that Edgewater architect and developer Niels Buck designed these homes.  Two permits were issued: the first covered the homes on the north side of the block in April 1915, and the second covered the south side in October.

According to an article in the Chicago Tribune, Niels Buck, in partnership with Herman Becker, bought 12 1/2 acres in the area for $60,000 from Jacob Rehm in 1914. Construction costs were estimated at $230,000, likely including site improvements.

Figure 2. View from the west looking
towards Clark Street, 1921.

This was a high-quality development, with poured concrete curbs, walkways, sidewalks, and electric streetlights.  The tile-and-stucco construction was just as sturdy as brick, but at a fraction of the cost.

Figure 2 is a great photograph of the street in 1921, when you could still smell the paint. The image is available on Wikipedia, which considers it too old to be subject to copyright.  Still, I'd like to know where it originated...

Real estate developers in the city were responsible for tying their development into the city's street grid and extending utilities.  Quality construction was profitable to the developer, who wanted homes to sell briskly so they could move on to their next opportunity.  And in 1915, affordable homes in Rogers Park, with its strong transit ties and proximity to the lake, probably went like hotcakes.

Figure 3. A sample of the bungalow designs.

Although these were basically the same in square footage, the changes in massing and design avoid the appearance of repetition.  This was an advantage of having a developer who also functioned as an architect. For those who look closely, the block creates an almost perfect illustration of architectural variations on a theme.

I put Figure 3 together when I thought the block was comprised of repeating building types. But in actuality, they all seem a bit different.  And after a hundred years of modifications, it's even harder to make that conclusion.

Figure 4. Bungalow with boulder cladding.

Many of the homes on the block have since departed from the original design intent.  Enclosing open porches was common, especially after affordable air conditioning became available.  Rear additions and detached garages are also common. I'm guessing garages weren't included in the original development in order to keep prices low.  Sometimes homes were expanded upward, losing the original roof shape but adding substantial square footage.

Stucco is a surface treatment that required maintenance, repair, and sometimes replacement.  It wasn't such a stretch to replace one surface treatment with another.  The bungalow in Figure 4 incorporates a formstone cladding.  This was popular for home repair as early as the 1930s and was probably a bit cheaper than new stucco, which requires specialized installation skills.

Figure 5. Bungalow with renovations.

The home in Figure 5 has been altered just as much as the one above, losing the open porch and extending a new covered entrance porch.  In this case, the renovations followed some established patterns on the block, retaining the stucco and eave brackets and incorporating more traditional window details.

This block of Arthur represents the most extensive contiguous development I've found in the neighborhood. But I know there are many more out there.

Figure 4. Ad for Atlas Portland Cement Company from
American Builder, May-1918.  Accessed through Google Books.

Somehow I keep finding more information about this street!  Below is a page from a booklet found on Archive.org.  It even includes a fuzzy floor plan and some more detail about the construction method.  The cost of the homes is noted as less than $3,000, which is about $54,000 in 2018. Wow.

Figure 6. Industrial Housing, National Fireproofing Company-  published 1918
and accessed via Google Books.

Some Chicago Bungalows in West Ridge

Bungalows are one of the most recognizable types of housing in Chicago.  Out of some perverse desire to focus on overlooked buildings I've avoided writing about them.  But it only takes a walk through West Ridge to find that the bungalow is a richer and more varied type of building than I expected.

These are what I think of when I hear "bungalow".  Basically, 1 1/2 stories with hipped roofs, offset entrances, polygonal projecting bays, and art-glass windows.  Developers would often build a string of these together.  They're recognizably related, but with varying details and treatments-- like siblings.  These three were built between 1926 and 1928 and cost between $8,000 and $10,000.  The National Register Nomination for Rogers Park Manor lists Dewey & Pavlich as the architects for 2542 W. Coyle, which leads me to believe they probably provided designs for all three.

But just  one street over there are examles of bungalows with completely different types of styling.  These two were designed by W. B. Wright and completed in 1926.    The architect experimented with the form of the bungalow to create more eclectic, somewhat Mediterranean, versions. 

These two are my favorite examples of atypical bungalow styles.  They're basically small cottages with boxes on the front dividing the main entrance from a small patio area.  I especially like the battered walls on the front facade. These were built in 1925 for $7,500. The one on the right lost its French doors, but at least it still has the tile roof.

If you're looking for an interesting walk through West Ridge I'm inserting the district map.  There's another bungalow district to the south, but that will have to wait for a future post.

Rogers Park Manor National Register Historic District