Chicago Workers Cottage Initiative
@chiworkerscottage.bsky.social
The Chicago Workers Cottage Initiative celebrates this housing style, seeking to preserve the unique features of these houses, protect them from demolition, and continue their use and reuse for the next century – https://workerscottage.org/
Happy Thanksgiving to all workers cottage fans! If you did not receive last week's fall newsletter, you can subscribe on our website workerscottage.org/news.html
November 27, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Happy Thanksgiving to all workers cottage fans! If you did not receive last week's fall newsletter, you can subscribe on our website workerscottage.org/news.html
Farm in the city: two gambrel “barn” roof cottages in Old Irving Park built around 1910
November 23, 2025 at 5:38 PM
Farm in the city: two gambrel “barn” roof cottages in Old Irving Park built around 1910
Brick buddies from different decades of refaced facades on old cottages
November 18, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Brick buddies from different decades of refaced facades on old cottages
Fall sun on a pair of cottages in Mayfair
November 14, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Fall sun on a pair of cottages in Mayfair
Are there any spooky cottages in your neighborhood? Let us know so we can go trick or treat there!
October 30, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Are there any spooky cottages in your neighborhood? Let us know so we can go trick or treat there!
Bucktown cottage that was originally a corner grocery
October 28, 2025 at 4:46 PM
Bucktown cottage that was originally a corner grocery
Curious cottage: the matching stone sills make it look like the front door has always been down the side of the house instead of the front (and the woodframe first level may be original too)
October 22, 2025 at 6:56 PM
Curious cottage: the matching stone sills make it look like the front door has always been down the side of the house instead of the front (and the woodframe first level may be original too)
Cottage portraits by Julie Sulzen as seen at #openhousechicago, open on Sunday also! www.architecture.org/open-house-c...
October 19, 2025 at 2:45 AM
Cottage portraits by Julie Sulzen as seen at #openhousechicago, open on Sunday also! www.architecture.org/open-house-c...
The Walt Disney Birthplace will be featured again on this weekend's Open House Chicago. In years past there was a long line to get inside, so go early!
October 17, 2025 at 5:51 PM
The Walt Disney Birthplace will be featured again on this weekend's Open House Chicago. In years past there was a long line to get inside, so go early!
Hooray for the Bellinger Cottage, a survivor of the Great Chicago Fire 154 years ago. Legend says that the owner doused the embers landing on the roof with a barrel of cider from the basement, but this is probably just a fun legend
October 8, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Hooray for the Bellinger Cottage, a survivor of the Great Chicago Fire 154 years ago. Legend says that the owner doused the embers landing on the roof with a barrel of cider from the basement, but this is probably just a fun legend
Come to our homeowner workshop at the Den Theater tonight and pick up our newest poster picturing workers cottages in Wicker Park & Bucktown www.eventbrite.com/e/2nd-annual...
October 6, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Come to our homeowner workshop at the Den Theater tonight and pick up our newest poster picturing workers cottages in Wicker Park & Bucktown www.eventbrite.com/e/2nd-annual...
See you tonight at the Den Theater! Still space to join us and meet other cottage owners and repair specialists! www.eventbrite.com/e/2nd-annual...
October 6, 2025 at 3:06 PM
See you tonight at the Den Theater! Still space to join us and meet other cottage owners and repair specialists! www.eventbrite.com/e/2nd-annual...
Sunflowers for a summer in fall day in Avondale
September 30, 2025 at 3:27 PM
Sunflowers for a summer in fall day in Avondale
CNN just named Avondale as one of the top 5 coolest neighborhoods in the world. We think its partly because of its workers cottages! Here's our poster of a few of them, available thru our website workerscottage.org/support.html
September 28, 2025 at 3:53 PM
CNN just named Avondale as one of the top 5 coolest neighborhoods in the world. We think its partly because of its workers cottages! Here's our poster of a few of them, available thru our website workerscottage.org/support.html
Enjoy the beginning of fall with a neighborhood walking tour! This Saturday 9/27 we'll be looking at the story of workers cottages in Logan Square. Reserve a ticket today: www.eventbrite.com/e/cottages-o...
September 23, 2025 at 6:17 PM
Enjoy the beginning of fall with a neighborhood walking tour! This Saturday 9/27 we'll be looking at the story of workers cottages in Logan Square. Reserve a ticket today: www.eventbrite.com/e/cottages-o...
Still time to join us for Sunday's walking tour looking at workers cottages in McKinley Park. Reserve your ticket at workerscottage.org/events.html!
September 18, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Still time to join us for Sunday's walking tour looking at workers cottages in McKinley Park. Reserve your ticket at workerscottage.org/events.html!
Cement block cottages are not very common! Here's another in Little Village:
September 17, 2025 at 7:01 PM
Cement block cottages are not very common! Here's another in Little Village:
This may be the house featured in this 1912 Chicago Examiner ad by Mills & Son which built nearly 400 cottages in the blocks west of Pulaski between Chicago & Division around 1910-1914
September 17, 2025 at 5:30 PM
This may be the house featured in this 1912 Chicago Examiner ad by Mills & Son which built nearly 400 cottages in the blocks west of Pulaski between Chicago & Division around 1910-1914
The West Side Cycling Club repurposed a workers cottage as their headquarters in 1895 on Humboldt Blvd at Cortland, a convenient start for 5-mile races around Palmer Square. While other clubs had wealthy members and extravagant clubhouses, WSCC cyclists worked as printers, bartenders and carpenters
September 16, 2025 at 2:58 PM
The West Side Cycling Club repurposed a workers cottage as their headquarters in 1895 on Humboldt Blvd at Cortland, a convenient start for 5-mile races around Palmer Square. While other clubs had wealthy members and extravagant clubhouses, WSCC cyclists worked as printers, bartenders and carpenters
Stop by the Wicker Park farmers market today to chat about cottages and pick up our brand new poster of exemplary cottages in Wicker Park-Bucktown!
September 14, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Stop by the Wicker Park farmers market today to chat about cottages and pick up our brand new poster of exemplary cottages in Wicker Park-Bucktown!
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, when renovating an old cottage (no offense to the people who live here, it’s probably nice on the inside!)
September 12, 2025 at 2:36 AM
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, when renovating an old cottage (no offense to the people who live here, it’s probably nice on the inside!)
Mark you calendars for our Oct 6 homeowner workshop to talk to specialists like www.topknotpainters.com about projects for your cottage. Reserve a ticket for the workshop at: workerscottage.org/events.html
September 9, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Mark you calendars for our Oct 6 homeowner workshop to talk to specialists like www.topknotpainters.com about projects for your cottage. Reserve a ticket for the workshop at: workerscottage.org/events.html
Join us on Mon Oct 6 for a workers cottage homeowners workshop at the Den Theater! Trade tips with other cottage owners and hear from specialists in home repair to plan your next home project www.eventbrite.com/e/2nd-annual...
September 5, 2025 at 7:32 PM
Join us on Mon Oct 6 for a workers cottage homeowners workshop at the Den Theater! Trade tips with other cottage owners and hear from specialists in home repair to plan your next home project www.eventbrite.com/e/2nd-annual...
Happy Labor Day for all the workers past and present who have lived in Chicago's workers cottages! Join us for a walking tour on Sept 21 looking at the many cottages in McKinley Park. Reserve a ticket via our website workerscottage.org/events.html
September 1, 2025 at 2:08 PM
Happy Labor Day for all the workers past and present who have lived in Chicago's workers cottages! Join us for a walking tour on Sept 21 looking at the many cottages in McKinley Park. Reserve a ticket via our website workerscottage.org/events.html
Pressed brick patterns on a Damen Ave cottage
August 30, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Pressed brick patterns on a Damen Ave cottage