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).