Bungalows, What They Really Are 
THE LIVING-ROOM IN THE BUNGALOW OF MRS. D. H. GIROUARD, 
ALTADENA, CALIFORNIA 
THE BUNGALOW OF MRS. D. H. GIROUARD, ALTADENA, CALIFORNIA 
had a ridge and rafters and were cov¬ 
ered with tiling, or split shakes, or 
slabs cut from pine trees in the adja¬ 
cent mountain range. It is easy then 
for the “tenderfoot” to confuse this 
low structure with the bungalow even 
though it resembles it only in being 
a one-storied house. 
The climate of Southern California 
for the major part of the year is dry and 
free from humidity. The sun, from 
which protection is sought in India, 
is eagerly courted in California. The 
“three hundred cloudless days in the 
year” which the acclimated Easterner 
is heard mentioning so frequently and 
so enthusiastically are responsible for 
the beneficent effects so often notice¬ 
able in the faces of those who seek 
health and consequent happiness in 
that favored locality. Hence the elimi¬ 
nation in many cases in the Southern 
California bungalow of the encircling 
veranda and the placing of porches, 
loggias or even uncovered terraces at 
such points as will enable the occu¬ 
pant to take a morning sun-bath or in 
the afternoon lounge in the shade, 
where the gentle breath of the trade- 
wind wafted up from tropical islands 
in more Southern latitudes of the 
Pacific bring to sore and tired lungs, 
healing balm and peaceful rest. 
In the East India bungalow a large 
living-room occupies the center of the 
house with sleeping-rooms on each of 
two sides. The kitchen and quarters 
for servants are in detached houses, 
the former being connected with “the 
house” by a covered passage. This 
was made necessary by reason of the 
evident readiness of the thatches to 
catch fire and destroy the entire estab¬ 
lishment, for in those days cooking 
stoves and ranges were unknown and 
the cooking was done on open fires 
built upon a raised platform or table 
of clay. The isolation of the only 
part of the menage where fire was ever 
used solved the problem as far as the 
household gods at least were con¬ 
cerned. If the dinner was cooled by 
a lengthy passage from the kitchen to 
the table it was usually so impregnated 
with curry that enough heat remained 
to satisfy all but the most exacting. 
In California the isolation of the ser¬ 
vants’ rooms and kitchen department 
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