Frank Glapa, Roycroft coppersmith

Click here to watch our neighbor Frank in action in a Roycroft class in East Aurora, New York, recently featured in the New York Times.

The bungalow, Chicago style

Visit yet another Flikr group for photos of bungalows around Chicagoland...

Broken Bungalow

Here's a photo from my new Flikr friends, Broken Bungalow.

The live in the neighborhood in the 6100 block of Maplewood, and judging from their photos have been living la vida loca with all of their rehab work. Take a look, you're sure to see some painfully familiar scenes.

Corner Gardens Project

Here's our Corner Gardens Project mascot/ supervisor, Lucy.

Lucy invites you to join members of WRBN, North Side Alliance, West Rogers Park Community Organization and the North Town Garden Society as we work together to create corner gardens all over West Ridge.

Would you like your corners planted? Join us for a meeting at Sukhadias restaurant, 2559 W. Devon this Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Lucy won't be there, but lots of hard-working volunteers will!

West Ridge neighborhood house tour

The Rogers / Park West Ridge house tour took place over the weekend. It was a glorious spring day, and a big success with over 100 attendees. Thanks to all of the homeowners and volunteers who helped make it happen!

Here's homeowner Van Soil on the day of the tour, showing off drawings by the orignal owner and builder of his home, architect Benedict Bruns. Mr. Bruns built his home on Rockwell in 1919, and was responsible for the design of many bungalows in our neighborhood and throughout Chicago.

Welcome Spring!

A beautiful garden on W. Albion near Campbell.

Does your place matter?

This is a very cool campaign, let's get some West Ridge photos in the online gallery!

MAY IS PRESERVATION MONTH: THIS PLACE MATTERS

The National Trust for Historic Preservation commemorates its fourth annual National Preservation Month in May with the theme: This Place Matters. Please join us in celebrating our country's diverse and irreplaceable heritage by participating in local events throughout the nation. Whether you are a historic homeowner, a heritage traveler, or a community planner or educator, opportunities abound for celebrating the unique culture and traditions of different areas of this country. Share your memories of the places that matter to you by participating in the This Place Matters photo campaign. Download the sign, take a picture and follow these simple instructions. View the online gallery of the places that matter to others.

Signs of Spring

Or, another way to recycle bungalow windows found in the alley (too wrecked to use as windows). Jo Stavig and Steve Knoebber built the cold frame & the plants are 'hardening off' quite nicely. They get air thru the top but stay warm enough.

On the market

We'll be very sorry to see them go, but some some lucky person will be the happy new owner of neighbors Ron and Marty Thomas' lovely home that they'll soon be vacating to move back to the east coast. Ron and Marty hosted a fun tour of their home for WRBN last month, and I think we all suffered serious bungalow envy. To learn more about this great property for sale or to just steal some decorating tips courtesy of Ron and Marty, click here.

Our 15 minutes of fame

Click here to read about yours truly, co-chair Jo Stavig, and all the news that's fit to print about the past, present and future of WRBN. Thanks to Lorraine and Sandy at the Chicago Journal / News-Star for a great story, and to Josh Hawkins for the photo taken in the 6700 block of N. Talman.

Swap Meet!

Yes, it's finally time for the swap meet. Time to clean out the garage, basement and your other hiding places and bring it all in to the North Town Public Library, tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. See the events listing on this page for more details. Here's George again, showing off just just one of the fine items that could be yours...

George Glastris: WRBN member, collector, klutz

George Glastris made his biggest mistake on the first day of a dream job he landed right out of college. He was at a top auction house in London and his first task was to put away a very rare and very large Edison phonograph from 1890. But George ended up dropping it. Although he's still clumsy, George turned his embarrassment into a lifelong passion. He now owns 25 vintage phonographs, and he's still in search of the one he dropped to add to his collection.
See a photo of the type of phonograph George dropped, and listen to the full story here.

A gem of a bungalow in Avalon

Stay tuned for details and photos of this exceptional bungalow in the Avalon neighborhood, recently visited by West Ridge neighbors Jo, Steve, Ann & Frank .

North Lake Shore Earth Day Celebration on Saturday, April 12

Save the Date - Taking care of the Earth is a collaborative effort. In that spirit, the north side communities of Andersonville, Edgewater, Ravenswood, Rogers Park, Uptown and West Ridge have joined forces with Loyola University Chicago to host the first North Lake Shore Earth Day Celebration scheduled for Saturday, April 12, 2008 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM. at Loyola University Chicago, Quinlan Life Sciences Building at 1060 W. Sheridan Road.
More than 15 workshops and panels explore every aspect of caring for the environment—globally and locally—to empower Chicagoans to take action in making the world greener.

Featured keynote speakers include Loyola’s own Al Gini, NPR personality and ethics professor; Debra Shore, wilderness advocate and Commissioner for the Water Reclamation District; Alderman Mary Ann Smith; and Suzanne Malec-McKenna, Commissioner for Chicago’s Department of the Environment.

Air quality issues, power, energy-free transport, global warming, carbon emissions and the health of Lake Michigan are the focus of the global issues addressed in the morning sessions. Shopping green, organic gardening, native planting, home energy conservation, running a green business, recycling and green parenting in the afternoon sessions help Chicagoans put ideas into action.

A Green Fair with more than 50 associations and businesses represented will be running throughout the day. As a special feature, tours will be given of Loyola’s LEED-certified Information Commons and Bio-Diesel lab.

Children’s programming, crafts, and an audio-visual orchestra with an interactive, environmental symphony celebrate nature’s effect on the senses.
Food will be provided. The event and parking on campus are free to the public.

Bungalow Planter Seminar on Wednesday 3/19

Did you know Spring officially begins this week? Have you started your gardening plans yet?

Come hear our West Ridge neighbor Jo Stavig speak about bungalow planter boxes at the Sulzer Regional Library 4455 N. Lincoln, 7pm.

Jo is one of the featured speakers in the HCBA Bungalow Seminar Series. Visit the HCBA event calendar for more information, and visit Jo's Urban Prairie Planters website to view her fabulous designs.

Chicago Green Homes Fair: March 15, 2008

Come explore how you can create a more environmentally-friendly home for you and your family. Whether you're planning to remodel or just want to learn what's new on the green building scene, spend some time meeting vendors and retailers with sustainable products to help you make a greener home.

Event details
Saturday, March 15, 2008
10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Chicago Center for Green Technology
445 N. Sacramento Blvd.

Admission is free and guided tours of the Chicago Center for Green Technology will occur throughout the day.

Two courses happening during the day are:
Historic Chicago Greystone Initiative
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m.
The Historic Chicago Greystone Initiative offers a mix of financial, technical, and historic preservation programming. One of the key goals of this program is to help homeowners identify ways to green their historic greystones. Participants will learn to make their homes more energy efficient, address indoor air quality and other health issues, and how to incorporate sustainable building materials into home improvement.

Green Home Remodeling Guides - An Overview
2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.
Planning a green home project this year? Join Meghann Maves as she introduces you to the City of Chicago's Green Home Remodeling Guides. This series of guides offers information on how to hire green professionals, paint and remodel kitchens, baths & laundry rooms, and how to salvage and reuse materials. This seminar is for the homeowner looking to create an environmentally-friendly remodel.

For more information, download the flyer below or call the Chicago Center for Green Technology at (312) 746-9642.

Chicago Green Homes Fair Flyer

Beat the Spring rush - get your rain barrel now!

The Metro Water Reclamation District sells rain barrels the 1st Tuesday of the month from 3 to 7. They're available to any City of Chicago resident for $40.00 each at the District's facility on Howard. Available in sky blue or black.

To reserve your barrel and for more information visit http://www.mwrd.org/

Pergolas, anyone?

I received an email today from Costco. They now carry a really nice collection of pergola kits, perfect for a bungalow back yard. Visit their website to see what's on offer. That's one of them in the photo.

A call for tour homes and gardens

The Rogers Park / West Ridge Historical Society is finalizing plans for their annual House Tour to be held on Sunday, May 4, 2008. This is their biggest fundraiser of the year, and they are still are in need of a few more homes and / or gardens to round out the tour. If you live within the boundaries of Devon to Pratt, Western to California please consider supporting the Society by opening your home or garden for this popular neighborhood event.

Speaking as a former host homeowner, the tour is a lot of fun to participate in. The Society also ensures that it is safe and secure experience for the homeowner. For more information, please contact me at mbrewer@rcn.com no later than Friday, February 29.

Feburary 14th WRBN Meeting

Greetings Bungalow Neighbors!
Our first meeting of the year is coming up, so mark your calendars for

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 14, 7:00PM at the Northtown Library, 6435 N. California.

Romancing the Fireplace

What could be more romantic than snuggling with your sweetie by a bungalow fireplace?

Fake, real, or on your wish list, the fireplace is a hot topic with bungalow owners.
Join us on Valentine's Day as Paul from Evanston’s Northshore Fireplace answers our questions about converting decorative to functional, ventless vs. vented, woodburning vs. gas, and the care and feeding of our fireboxes, surrounds, chimneys, and mantels.
Sweet treats will be served!

Jo & Maribeth