Schorsch Irving Park Gardens Historic District

Eight blocks of the northwest side of Chicago, about nine miles from the commercial center, make up a neighborhood of brick bungalows built mainly by one contractor, Albert J. Schorsch. After O.A. Thorp Elementary School opened in 1916, he developed nearly all of the area between 1917 and 1926, in two building campaigns. The district holds 252 bungalows, a two-flat, a store-and-residence building and the school. Houses sit on uniform lots with similar setbacks, low-pitched roofs, overhanging eaves and ribbon windows, while limestone trim, varied brickwork, roof shapes and porch arrangements give each home some individuality. Architects named for the houses include Ernest N. Braucher and Axel V. Teisen. The area is significant for its link to the promotion of single-family homeownership in Chicago, and as a well-preserved example of the Chicago bungalow. Only six buildings have been altered enough to lose contributing status, and the neighborhood remains entirely residential.