About 25 residents attended the first seminar on October 20, 2004, associated with the 2005 Bungalows of Broad Ripple house tour. Bungalows 101 was presented by local architectural expert and house restorer Kipp Normand at Northminster Presbyterian Church.

Bungalows of Broad Ripple home tour organizer Sue Zilich introduced Kipp's program and updated the attendees with the status of the 2005 tour. "The tour home selections are almost complete, and letters will go out to the homeowners, said Sue. "We know that some will be put off at the thought of opening their homes to the tour, but most will be honored that their homes were selected."

Kipp began his bungalow presentation with a simple rule, "Every bungalow is a small house, but not every small house is a bungalow." Bungalow comes from the Indian word bangla, or bangala, meaning low house with many porches. British army officers were housed in bungalows during their stay in India. The small, efficient houses became popular with the military, and as the officers returned home bungalows started sprouting all over England. In the late 1800's the bungalow came to America. Greene and Greene built bungalows in California, and are credited with starting the Arts & Crafts bungalow craze. Many pattern books were published with bungalow house plans and architectural details. Before this popularity, small houses were usually for the poor. But, these small, efficient bungalows were something the homeowner could be proud of. Kipp showed many examples of advertising that cashed in on the bungalow craze. For example, pictures of cozy bungalows were used in ads for many kinds of products. There was even a Bungalow Pie Company in South Bend.

In the Broad Ripple area hundreds of bungalows surround the original business district. Urban Gypsy, at 6407 Ferguson, was highlighted as an example of a bungalow with preserved architectural details. One characteristic of early bungalows is the two doors on the front of the house: one for each parlor. The front parlor was the formal entrance to the house, and was for entertaining guests. The back parlor, adjacent to the front parlor, had its own door and was where the family met and had meals. The pattern books often showed the bungalow with the newest trend at the time, such as a car in the driveway. This was the American Dream, a modern house and a big car.

Sears and Montgomery Ward sold bungalow kits, complete with plans and every part needed to build the house. The Sears houses' rafters and floor joists were often stamped with the house model number and "Sears Roebuck". Building a kit house was the subject of Buster Keaton's 1920 movie One Week.

"In the past four or five years people have recognized the beauty [of the bungalow] and of fixing them up," said Kipp."In some cities the old bungalows are being torn down to make room for big houses. Luckily, that is not happening here. In Indianapolis people are restoring to the original look because they appreciate the architecture."

Kipp ended the presentation with a reading of a poem about bungalows. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed period cookies and punch. Sue Zilich used a 1920s cookbook for the period cookie recipes.