|
Go to:
|
|
The Bungalow
The bungalow was an affordable, popular style
of house for the middle class during
the Great Depression.
One way to buy a bungalow was to order a kit through a catalog. Saginaw and Bay City
were centers for shipping the construction kits nationwide. Michigan manufacturers of
these home kits included Aladdin Company and Sterling Homes in Bay City. The Sears and
Roebuck and the Montgomery Ward catalogs offered bungalows.
Typical architectural features of the bungalow include a one-story or one-and-a-half
story design, a broad low-gabled roof with wide overhanging eaves and a front porch that
often extended the full width of the house. The museum's bungalow has a front porch, a
living room, a dining room and a bedroom. The photograph above shows the living room.
In the gallery, see the floor plans of the Aladdin Company of Bay City. To compare your
home to a 1930s bungalow, see the Bungalow Floor Plans
PDF.
 The Radio
The radio was a powerful medium for information and entertainment during the 1930s. By
1940, ninety percent of Michigan homes had a radio. Listeners heard news, weather, farm
reports, sports, music, speeches, advertisements and adventure programs like The Lone
Ranger. You can learn more about Michigan radio in the 1930s in our online
exhibit,
On the Air!
|
