The Eclectic and Innovative Homes of Armstrong Circle

39th Annual Rogers Park/West Ridge Historic House Walk

The 39th House Walk features a neighborhood where the homes reflect the experimental spirit of the turn of the 20th Century. Seeking new ways to build taller, safer and less expensive buildings, creative architects and engineers broke architectural norms. Chicago became the innovative leader of the skyscraper age.

In the neighborhoods, prosperous residents who spent workdays in modern new buildings sought similarly innovative houses. The homes of Armstrong Circle are a living tribute to the architectural creativity of the period.

West of Ridge Boulevard, most homes on Estes, Greenleaf and Lunt Avenues around George Armstrong School were built just before World War I. Each house on the tour represents a new style or building technique of the period.

Your stroll through the neighborhood will include a stop at a small and affordable Craftsman cottage by a Prairie Style architect better known for elegant suburban mansions. Take a tour of a home built with the latest “fireproof” construction. Visit an example of what became the classic Chicago bungalow, only a block down the street from a home built when greenhouses were more common than residences. You’ll meet the homeowners, who will share their stories of how these vintage houses serve them well today.

There’s even a pre-WWI American Four-Square powered by 21st Century sustainable energy. This tour is a reminder that a peek behind the facade of a building may reveal an unexpected new perspective.

The annual Historic House Walk is a Rogers Park/West Ridge tradition. It provides crucial funding for all the work of the Rogers Park/West Ridge Historical Society. Your ticket purchase supports our topical and educational Living History series and our content-rich online resources: website, History Wiki, YouTube channel, social media accounts and our browsable photo archive. It helps sustain the work we do to field questions from educators, the media, visitors and curious members of the public; to create new programs; and to create new ways to celebrate the story of Chicago’s far north side.

Join us on October 5 for a new look at a neighborhood you’ll want to explore.