The Craftsman style was the most popular design for small residential buildings built throughout the country in the first three decades of the twentieth century. The bungalow was a new form of dwelling that was first used in the 1890s for rustic vacation or resort cottages; it was initially adapted for suburban residential purposes in California.

Influenced by the English Arts and Crafts Movement and Oriental and Indian architecture, the style was popularized by the work of two brothers, Charles S. and Henry M. Greene. The Greene's began practicing architecture in Pasadena, California in 1893, and in the ensuing two decades designed a number of large, elaborate prototypes of the style. Their innovative designs received a significant amount of publicity in national magazines such as Western Architect, The Architect, House Beautiful, Good Housekeeping, and Ladies' Home Journal. By the turn of the twentieth century, the design had been adapted to smaller houses, commonly referred to as bungalows.

It was this scaled down version of the Craftsman style that became a ubiquitous has in residential neighborhoods during the early twentieth century.

The Craftsman bungalow is typically a one- or one-and-one-half-story building with a low- pitched gable (or hipped-roof) set end to the street. The eaves are wide and open, exhibiting structural components such as rafter ends, beams, and brackets.

The porch is often the most dominant architectural feature of the Bungalow. They are generally either full or partial width, with the roof supported by tapered square columns that either extend to ground level or sit on brick piers.

Shingle, stone, and stucco, sometimes used in combination, were the most common materials.

Windows are usually double-hung sash with vertical lights in the upper sash. Another stylistic variation for the bungalow is the use of stock colonial elements.

As a modest, convenient, and economical building type, the bungalow became popular with housing contractors and house buyers of limited means.

Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood

There are few examples of traditional Craftsman bungalows in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood. The best example of a Craftsman bungalow is the architect-designed, single- family residence located at 669 Best Street.

Instead, Craftsman elements were commonly applied to late-nineteenth and early twentieth century workers’ cottages, as well as to large two- and-one-half story multiple-family houses. The most common feature added to earlier residences was the Craftsman porch. Almost ubiquitous in the residential blocks of the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood, these full-width porches range in level of stylistic detail from simple to high style.

Other examples of the Craftsman style in the Broadway-Fillmore neighborhood include a number of two-story, hipped-roof, Craftsman-detailed buildings that were constructed in the first third of the twentieth century (733 Best Street, 838 Fillmore Avenue, 363 Fox street, and 347, 349 and 353 Herman Street, Another variation of the Craftsman style found in the Broadway- Fillmore area is the two-and-one-half story, side-gabled residence (549 and 964 Fillmore Avenue).