A Tour of Bakersfield's Bungalow Courts

EDITED 9/2/2014 with new information.

Bungalow courts started being built just prior to World War I, and from 1910 to 1930, they were the dominant multi-family dwelling type in Southern California. Pasadena holds the distinction of having the first bungalow court. It was designed in 1909 by Sylvanus Marston who placed eleven full-sized bungalow houses in a courtyard arrangement. The earliest bungalow court that I could find in Bakersfield is the court at 926 Lake Street in East Bakersfield. It was built in 1910 by Contractor Young of Santa Barbara for Mathias Warren (Earl Warren's father) as rental units. As the 1912 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map of Bakersfield shows, the court originally had six units with a walkway leading off of Lake Street. Four units survive.

A typical bungalow court consists of six to ten small, individual houses placed around a communal green space. Each house usually consists of only one bedroom. Most bungalow courts are kept to two standard city lots, and parking is usually limited and is often at the rear of the units, in the alleyway, or on the street.  906 Kentucky Street, with its three bungalows on either side of a central lawn, is an example of a typical bungalow court arrangement. Bungalow courts can also be found in other, less common arrangements. Paynter Court (1717 Palm Street) is an example of a U–shaped court, which is characterized by a duplex or, in this case, a small apartment house at the back. Individual cottages or even a series of duplexes or triplexes arranged around a long, narrow, garden-like walkway can also be considered a bungalow court.  St. Elmo Court is an example of an attached, narrow court in which a common walkway and yard is shared by four, attached, residences.

What separates a bungalow court from other detached multiple housing units that were built later has to do with aesthetic. From distinctive tilework (St. Elmo Court) to Spanish tile roofs (2001 Blanche Street) to bay windows (El Maiz Court, 101 Eye Street) to exposed beams (Ye Olde English Village Court Apartments, 1823 Myrtle Street), bungalow courts have a quaintness and approachability missing from more tenement-like apartment complexes.

Bungalow courts were built throughout Bakersfield. Many are tucked into residential neighborhoods that were being developed on former farmland. For example, the bungalow courts near 23rd and D streets (Finlayson, Spreyer, and Swanson courts) were built on former Kern County Land Company land. When they were built in the late 1930s, the land was at the northern edge of town.  Bungalow courts were also built on land that was being subdivided from larger properties; 1717 Baker was built next to dentist’s G. L. Brown’s house on land that had been part of Dr. Brown’s orchard.

During the bungalow court’s heyday, American society was drastically changing as large numbers of young people sought opportunities away from their families. This included young men returning from the military as well as young women entering the workforce. Traditional housing types - mainly single family homes, boarding houses, and city apartments - did not meet the new demand. Courtyard housing provided a sense of community as well as independence.

Media endorsed bungalow court living for young women. In 1913, an article in Ladies' Home Journal concluded that “very few persons, particularly women, can be happy outside of a pleasant home. An apartment in a great boxlike building is frequently the solution, as a house to one's self is apt to be not only lonely, but expensive as well. In California, the court apartment has solved the problem in a practical and economical way.” Women may have been the primary residents of bungalow courts in Southern California, but this does not seem to have been the case in Bakersfield. Only about 20% of the heads of households living in a bungalow court apartment as listed in the 1930 Bakersfield City Directory were women. Considering that Bakersfield’s main industries were oil and agriculture – both male-dominated fields – it seems reasonable that most of the bungalow court residents were male. Many young couples also lived in the units, but pets and children were not allowed.

After World War II, bungalow courts fell out of favor as emphasis was placed on building single-family homes in newly developing suburbs. The 1960s saw the development of large-scale apartment buildings that allowed for much higher housing density. While groupings of one-story units continued to be built in Bakersfield, these groupings lack the personality, beauty, and approachability that was prevalent in the earlier courts.

A few of Bakersfield’s Bungalow Courts:

• 926 Lake Street
  Built: 1910
  (picture coming soon)
• St. Elmo Court
  1800 Forrest Street
  Built: circa 1919
  

• Imperial Court
  1302 M Street
  Built: 1923
• Alta Vista Court
  110 Kentucky Street
  Built: 1925
• Los Olivas Court
  1022 Truxtun Avenue
  Built: 1926
  “TO SUB-LET until September 1 bungalow, in bungalow court. Electric fan, Victrola and records, silver and linen and telephone. Front rooms and bath. Call 2880-R, or come to 1022 Truxtun avenue.” The Bakersfield Californian, 6/14/1927
• 2016-2030 C Street
  Built: 1928
  

• 311 East 19^th Street
  Built: 1928
  

• De Luxe Court
  509 B Street
  Built: 1929
• 1717 Baker Street
  Built: 1929
  “Seven-unit bungalow court to cost $20,000. Handsome Improvement to Be Constructed on Baker Street 1700 Block.”The Bakersfield Californian, 4/6/1929
  

• 906 Kentucky
  Built: 1929
  

• Ye Olde English Village Court Apartments
  1823 Myrtle Street
  Built: 1929
  Architects: Ernest J. Kump Jr. and Ernest J. Kump Sr.
  

• 1906 Forrest Street
  Built: circa 1930
  

• Paynter Court
  1717 Palm Street
  Built: 1931
  

• Finlayson Court
  2100 23^rd Street
  Built: 1937
  “REAL ESTATE NEWS BRIEFS Finlayson Court Foundations have been laid and workmen are busy with the upper structure of the new six-unit Monterey court to be erected at the corner of Twenty-third and D streets by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Finlayson.” The Bakersfield Californian, 1/23/1937
  

• Spreyer Court (also called Dolores Court)
  2210 D Street
  Built: 1937
  

• Swanson Court (also called El Encanto Court)
  2300 D Street
  Built: 1937
  

• 520 H Street
  Built: circa 1937
  

• Westwind Court
  705 K Street
  Built: 1937
• 1714 Quincy
  Built: circa 1938
• 2001 Blanche Street
  Built: 1938
  “FOR RENT - New modern bungalow courts, near high school, completely furnished $50, partly furnished $42.50. Inquire 2001 Blanche street or call 3034-J in afternoon.” The Bakersfield Californian, 2/24/1938
  

• Tapia Village
  1819 Niles Street and 1802 Monterey
  Built: 1938
  Original Owner: F. M. Franklin
  

• El Maiz Court
  101 Eye Street
  Built: 1940
  Builder J. M. Corn chose the Spanish translation of his surname when naming his bungalow court.
  

Here's your Google Tour: https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=zqKtY-GP1nU4.kCVNcqkHW8Xk

1910 Bakersfield City Directory

I've transcribed the 1910 Bakersfield City Directory! Please click on the link to take you to the directory - 1910 Bakersfield City Directory.

Disclaimer - There may be some mistakes. I suggest double checking the source. The Beale Library has the city directory as does the Kern County Museum.