The 1920's

The Bungalow House Style

The Bungalow was a popular style of house that appeared in the early 1900's and reached its peak development in the 1920's. Not only was it very popular in North America but also in countries like Australia where it also became a dominant housing style during this period.

Typical 1920's Bungalow - pictured above (see description below)

THIS bungalow, 26x41, has a concrete block foundation under the entire house. The exterior walls are of narrow siding and shingles in gable, with green stained shingles on roof. The interior is exceptionally well planned, as well as convenient. It is a plan which can be adjusted to meet the requirements of a fairly large family, by using the room, designated as sun room, as a chamber. On the other hand, if only two chambers are desired, this room is admirably situated for a sun room. If it is used, you can eliminate the door and have either arch opening or French doors. Besides this sun room, you can have a cozy porch, screened in summer and sashed in winter. The living room and dining room are of good size, with plaster arch between them. The kitchen, has a breakfast nook, kitchen cabinet with refrigerator space for outside iceing, also grade entry to basement.

The center hall, leading to kitchen, chambers, bath room and dining room is another admirable feature in this plan.

The woodwork may be fir, birch or oak, finished walnut, old ivory, mahogany, or old English. Chambers should be white enamel with doors stained mahogany.

The bungalow's basement has laundry tubs, vegetable room and coal bin. Hot water or hot air heat may be used.

Dancing "The Charleston"

The dance that is best remembered from the 1920's era is the Charleston. The Charleston was introduced to the general public in the Ziegfield Follies Broadway Show of 1923 by the Afro-American musical "Running Wild", making the charleston so popular that even today, it is still represents the 1920s Jazz Age.

The Charleston is characterized by kicking back the heels while bending and straightening the knees to the beat of the music. Click here for instructions on how to dance the Charleston.

Flappers with their knocked knees, crossed over hands, and long strings of beads danced the Charleston, and a dance called the "Black Bottom", after seeing them danced in a 1926 Broadway production. Within the year, the charleston swept through America, and most countries of the world.

From Boom to Bust

When the Federal Reserve Bank was created in 1913 it set the stage for a move away from the gold standard (a currency backed by gold) and a huge increase in unbacked fiat (paper) money and credit. The explosion in credit facilitated the creation of financial bubbles in the stock and housing markets in particular.

The money supply was steadily ramped up which created an appearance of growth and prosperity. Federal debt which had remained at relatively low levels from the end of the Civil War until Woodrow Wilson's first year in office exploded from $2.9 billion to $25 billion between 1913 and 1920. Consumer credit in the form of payment by installment for what had previously been luxury items that were the province of the rich enabled the middle class to live beyond their means.

The stock market set new records year after year and it appeared that all one had to do to get rich was borrow and invest in shares. Brokers loans increased from $3.5 billion dollars at the end of 1927 to nearly $6 billion dollars in 1929, the extra credit adding more fuel to the rise in the stock market.

Daily share transactions increased from a record high of 3,875,910 on March 12, 1928 to 4,790,000 on March 27, 1928 and by a year later on March 26, 1929 transactions had risen to a giddy 8,246,740.

The low limestone building near the corner of of Wall and Broad Streets which still displayed scars from the bomb explosion of 1920 became the center of the undisputed financial capital of the world by the late 1920's.

Real Estate prices rose year after year as speculators invested in land (and swamps!) in Florida and elsewhere. As reported in "Only Yesterday" written in 1931, "Yes, the public bought. By 1925 they were buying anything, anywhere, so long as it was in Florida. One had only to announce a new development, be it honest or fraudulent, be it on the Atlantic Ocean or deep in the wasteland of the interior, to set people scrambling for house lots."

When the property bubble eventually burst in September 1926 following a devastating hurricane in Florida, house prices declined by an average of 30%, but up to 80% in some areas, leaving many speculators broke, and a Florida landscape littered with abandoned projects.

Wall Street bonuses set new records. Executive salaries increased faster than share and land prices, and wages of the factory workers. Private Equity Funds used borrowed money for leveraged buyouts of major businesses.

However, not everyone benefited from the prosperity of the Coolidge years. Farmers of every sort in particular suffered badly, as did coal-mining, textile manufacturing, and shipbuilding to name but a few.

Eventually the share market ran out of momentum and share prices started to decline. Many investors had to sell shares to meet "margin calls" which caused share prices to drop further, increasing the problem and leading to the Share Market crash of October and November 1929.

A record 16,410,030 share transactions took place on October 29, 1929 as the share market crash started to unfold. Investors panicked and huge amounts of stock were thrown into the market for whatever price they would bring.

The large and devastating losses experienced by the majority of investors created a loss of confidence that rippled through the U.S. economy and spread to overseas markets.

In 1933 the private ownership of gold was banned because it was in direct competition with government bonds for funds. The consequence of this was a deepening economic depression and a long and gradual fall in interest rates.

All attempts by prominent businessmen and politicians to restore confidence failed and America slipped into the depression years, with the rest of the world following suit. Despite huge amounts of debt being purged from the system through bankruptcies and business failure it took rearmament and the second world war to create conditions that led to economic prosperity.

1920's Cars

The 1920's saw huge developments in the automobile industry. Mass production brought the cost of cars down and along with rising wages made cars affordable for the rising middle class. This increase in car buying supplied volume to the assembly lines leading to lower unit costs and an ever increasing cycle of reduced retail prices.

Balloon tires, shock absorbers, and closed in waterproof bodies with heaters made cars a lot more comfortable, especially in winter. Beautiful color co-ordinated paint schemes decorated the outside, while quality materials like mohair were used in the interiors.

Four wheel brakes, safety glass, and lighter vehicles made cars easier to stop and increased safety for drivers and passengers.

I recently had the opportunity to drive a 1920's car and while it was great fun to drive on the open road it was a lot more stressful in the city. The main reason was the huge amount of muscle power required for braking. This was pre power-assisted brakes, so matching the road speed of modern cars wasn't a problem, but I had to allow space for braking safely. I hate to think what cars were like when they only had 2 wheel brakes!

Pictures of 1920's Cars - Mostly stylish coupes as they appeared in magazine advertisements.

Illustrated 1920's Car Advertisements - See some of the beautifully illustrated automotive advertisements crafted by America's top illustrators of the nineteen-twenties.

We are indeed a BETTER way to shop for Auto insurance. It only takes about 4 minutes to fill out the form for Free Auto Insurance Quotes. Our experts will find you the best deal on insurance and save you time as well as money. There is no obligation and best of all, it's absolutely free.

Atwater Kent Radio Advertisement

A million people can't be wrong about this.

THERE are lots of kinds of radio, aren't there? Is it hard for you to decide? Will this help you:

More than a million families who faced the same problem are now enjoying Atwater Kent Radio in their homes. They listened to all the arguments, just as you are doing-and then put their money in the radio with the reputation backed by experience.

The reason for Atwater Kent Radio's long lead is its all-round efficiency under all sorts of conditions. It works-and keeps on working.

Now that the Atwater Kent ONE Dial Receiver is here-the true ONE Dial that gets all Stations within range without secondary tuning devices-the public is buying twice as many as it did before.

All the radio makers have had their say. Isn't it time now to stop listening to arguments and listen to programs?

Write for illustrated booklet telling the complete story of Atwater Kent Radio

ATWATER KENT MFG. COMPANY

Model 35, six-tube receiver illustrated, with ONE Dial. Speaker Model H.

Mens and Womens 1920's Hairstyles

Mens hairstyles were short (short back and sides) and often cut using a razor. Electric hair clippers were just coming in to use but most professionals preferred razors.

Ladies hairstyles started off the decade long but ended up short.

The 1920's was the decade the "Bob" hairstyle reigned supreme. Despite the austere appearance of early bobbed haircuts, they were embraced by women seeking relief from maintenance of long hair. Early bobs used straight cuts but by the mid to late 1920's stylish tapered bobs were common. Toward the end of the twenties and the early thirties, curls and waves added variety to bobs and they reached the pinnacle of their development.

Other hairstyles of the 20's included the very short Eton crop, shingling, various types of waves including the introduction of permanent waves, and plaits.

More information on 1920's Hairstyles

Trans-continental Travel in Giant Passenger Airships

Air Travel was a big new adventure in the 1920's due to the advances in aviation that allowed passengers to travel comfortably in closed-in planes and airships like the well known Zeppelins.

Airships like the Graf Zeppelin allowed air travel between continents in splendid comfort and offered competition to the luxurious ocean liners. Airplanes were still very restricted in the number of passengers they could carry and the inflight facilities they could provide. Dirigibles had a much higher load carrying capacity and so could carry many more passengers and service crew in spacious gondolas suspended below the cigar-shaped body.

A series of dirigible crashes in the 1930's ended the reign of airships. By this stage the passenger carrying capacity of planes had improved significantly and the modern era of air travel was ushered in.