PORTAGE PARK — Plans are in the works to officially recognize a portion of Portage Park as a historic bungalow district.

The Historic Chicago Bungalow Association wants Portage Park to join 10 other Chicago neighborhoods — including North Mayfair and Irving Park Gardens — on the National Register of Historic Places as a historic bungalow district.

Ald. Tim Cullerton (38th) said he supported the effort, adding that he would welcome national recognition of the uniqueness of Portage Park's bungalows.

"There's no downside," Cullerton said. "I think it could be really beneficial."

Cullerton said the designation could help owners of the homes, most of which were built nearly a century ago, get grants, loans and tax credits to renovate their properties.

The designation won't stop owners of the brick homes — which are typically 1½ stories tall, trimmed in stone and feature low-pitched roofs with overhangs — from demolishing or changing the facade of their home, Cullerton said.

There are nearly 80,000 bungalows in Chicago, instantly recognizable by their big windows and offset front or side entrances.

They make up nearly a third of all single-family homes in Chicago, according to the bungalow association.

The district would include all of the bungalows from Pensacola Avenue south to Hutchinson Street and from Lockwood Avenue west to Central Avenue. In that area, 188 of the 226 homes are bungalows, most built between 1925 and 1926.

The proposal will be presented to the Commission on Chicago Landmarks and the Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council.