Chicago's Housing Story

The Chicago Workers Cottage Initiative is partnering with UIC's Great Cities Institute to host the Real Time Chicago Lecture Series spotlighting housing organizations in Chicago. In the first talk, Emilio Carrasquillo, program manager at the Spanish Coalition for Housing, will share insights from the organization's long history providing education and assistance for homebuyers and homeowners. The coalition began in 1966 when North and South side groups serving the Latino community collaborated to address citywide housing needs.

Real Time Lecture Series

The talk is free to attend. RSVP and join us on Wednesday, January 29 at 1pm at the Great Cities Institute meeting hall at 412 South Peoria St #400

Stay tuned for more details about the second lecture featuring the Chicago Bungalow Association on Wednesday, February 19 at 1pm.

If This Cottage Could Talk

Farmers Market

Have you ever wondered who once lived in your house? What's your house's story? Matt Bergstrom of the Chicago Workers Cottage Initiative will lead an upcoming "how-to" workshop to demonstrate tools you can use to discover the history of your home, focusing on the challenges of researching workers cottages.

Learn how to bring together information from maps, census records, newspaper clippings and other records to tell a story about the past residents who were connected to your home.

The workshop will take place in the community room on February 23 at 2pm at the Bucktown Library (1701 N Milwaukee Ave), a short walk from the Damen Blue Line station. RSVP for the event via Eventbrite.

Cottage Demolitions

Workers cottages continue to be targeted for demolition across Chicago. Of the 645 demolition permits issued by the city in 2024, roughly 17% (108 houses) were workers cottage teardowns. We don't know the specific condition of all of these houses, but the majority were likely in decent shape before demolition. CWCI research has shown that most workers cottage teardowns are replaced by larger single-family homes, not multi-unit buildings.

An additional 9% of demolition permits (58 houses) in 2024 were emergency demolitions of empty workers cottages owned by the City of Chicago, most likely after their owners fell behind on tax payments. Altogether, nearly 26% of buildings demolished in 2024 in Chicago were workers cottages, a higher proportion than this house type occurs across the city.

Here are a few portraits of cottages torn down in recent months. Many of these classic Chicago homes could have been preserved if the buyer or owner had chosen to value and restore them.

Hermosa Cottages

Images from Cook County Assessors Office via Chicago Cityscape

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