Sep 26, 2024 05:51 PM
(This post was last modified: Sep 26, 2024 05:54 PM by Magical Realist.)
I grew up in a typical 1960's suburban brick house. The so-called "front porch" was a 8 ft by 5 ft elevated slab of concrete providing little to no room for sitting in chairs. All the other houses in the neighborhood had the same token platforms. When we visited with our grandparents, they had a big wooden house with a large inviting front porch. I remember many times sitting out there in their porch swing enjoying their company. I miss porches to this very day. Bring'em back I say!
Here's a brief history of the American front porch and its rise and eventual disappearance in modern home architecture:
"Italians enjoy piazzas, the French spend time in sidewalk cafes, and around the Mediterranean many homes surround courtyards providing spaces for outdoor activities in good weather. The front porch is almost unique to America — spanning the front of countless homes in every city and village. Porches can be wide or narrow, one story or two, cover half the front façade or wrap around three — or even four — sides.
Porches emerged beginning in the middle of the 19th century, as cities grew larger and families began living in individual homes. People viewed their yard and garden from inside the house and planned for the vistas viewed through windows. Gradually the point of view shifted from inside to how the house looked from the street, and the front porch emerged as a place to see and be seen — to be outside but still sheltered by the home.
While a back porch may have allowed the family more privacy, around the beginning of the 20th century the backyard included things that the family wanted to get away from when they spent time outdoors — the vegetable garden, trash heap, and especially the outhouse. Indeed, the growth of municipal sanitary sewers lead to a decline of both outhouses and front porches.
The heyday of the front porch lasted from the early 1880s to the middle 1920s. Families added front porches to their homes or built new houses with elaborate porches. The porch became the comfortable spot for a summer evening where the whole family could relax after dinner. Neighbors taking an evening stroll could engage in conversation or be invited up...."
Continued here:
https://www.mlive.com/homeandgarden/2010...GYfK-60-gQ
Here's a brief history of the American front porch and its rise and eventual disappearance in modern home architecture:
"Italians enjoy piazzas, the French spend time in sidewalk cafes, and around the Mediterranean many homes surround courtyards providing spaces for outdoor activities in good weather. The front porch is almost unique to America — spanning the front of countless homes in every city and village. Porches can be wide or narrow, one story or two, cover half the front façade or wrap around three — or even four — sides.
Porches emerged beginning in the middle of the 19th century, as cities grew larger and families began living in individual homes. People viewed their yard and garden from inside the house and planned for the vistas viewed through windows. Gradually the point of view shifted from inside to how the house looked from the street, and the front porch emerged as a place to see and be seen — to be outside but still sheltered by the home.
While a back porch may have allowed the family more privacy, around the beginning of the 20th century the backyard included things that the family wanted to get away from when they spent time outdoors — the vegetable garden, trash heap, and especially the outhouse. Indeed, the growth of municipal sanitary sewers lead to a decline of both outhouses and front porches.
The heyday of the front porch lasted from the early 1880s to the middle 1920s. Families added front porches to their homes or built new houses with elaborate porches. The porch became the comfortable spot for a summer evening where the whole family could relax after dinner. Neighbors taking an evening stroll could engage in conversation or be invited up...."
Continued here:
https://www.mlive.com/homeandgarden/2010...GYfK-60-gQ