This Bungalow-Style Stained-Glass Pumpkin Is The Most Gloriously Chicago Thing You'll See On Halloween

By Stephen Gossett in Arts & Entertainment on Oct 31, 2017 5:20PM

Chicago writer and photographer John Morris is no slouch when it comes to documenting the city's built environment. He's the man behind the indispensable Chicago Patterns photo blog and Chicago Architecture Data, not to mention Tiny City, his incredible series of Chicago architecture writ small through paper-craft miniatures. So we weren't surprised to see him draw inspiration from one of the city's most iconic residential ornamentations when pumpkin-carving time rolled around. But we were thrilled nonetheless.

We encounter a lot of civic-pride manifestations in the autumn months, from Cubs corn mazes to Harry Caray jack-o-lanterns, but Morris' stained glass-themed jack-o-lantern pumpkin—referencing the instantly recognizable kind common to many a Chicago bungalow—is the kind of spectacularly granular source material that stands out most.

Morris told Chicagoist via email that wondered if he "could do something architectural" for carving season this year. "My wife and I recently bought a house, so decided I'd try to put the windows above the fireplace on a pumpkin," he said.

Morris re-created the window using the Sketch program and soon headed to Blick Art Materials for translucent, colored plastic sheets. He "overlaid each color over the printed window," sliced through with an xacto knife, connected the sheets with craft glue "and then did a subpar pumpkin cutting job to add them," he added modestly.

He recommends grabbing a paint pen if you try to play along at home next year. Which you should.