Homes: The Porch


Figure 1.--This wonderfully nostalgic sceen from small town America, probably about 1915-1920. Notice the large houses with prches facing a tree-lined street as well as the whicker furniture and swing behind the girl. A brother and sister are sitting in a swing on their front porch. The boys wears a smart knickers suit, his sister an elegant white dress. Both wear long dark stockings.

The porch in the days before air conditioning were an integral part of the American home during the warm summer months. A front porch might run all the way along the front of a house and even around the side. They always had roofs. Some were even screened in. The family might adjourn to the front porch after dinner. The adults might chat while they watch the little ones hunting fireflys. It was also a place for the older youngsters to get away from their partents. Boys might visit their girls. The porch faced the street and thus were the site of many neighborly exchanges. The neighbors might stop by if they saw you on the front porch, pull up a chair, have a sit-down and "shoot the breeze". And of course by the turn of the 20th century, no front porch was complete without a swing and whicker furniture. Many American growing up in the first half of the 20th century can recall spending countless hours on the front porch with friends watching cars and people, and talking about sports. It was also a great place for games of all kinds or trading baseball cards. The front porch was also a great place for photography, especially in the early 20th century when indoors photography was still a little complicated for amaeturs.

Importance

The porch was an important part of many homes. The porch in the days before air conditioning were an integral part of the American home during the warm summer months.

Construction

A front porch might just cover part of the front of the house. They also ran all the way along the front of a house and even around the side. A proper porch was covered. Many less expensive homes had front steps that were not covered. We note rural shacks in the South with boarded front steps that were not covered. Some people screened in their porches. This and glass slates were normallyadded to back rather than front porches. Some porches were part of the original building. Other families decided to cover areas in front or behind the home after moving in to create a a kind of outdoor living space.

Location

The standard porch was located at the front of the house, perhaps extending to the side. Side porcheswere not common, in part because they would be intrusive to your neighbor's privacy. There were also back porches. We called our back porch a veranda, but that apparently is not part of the dictionary defination.

Social Class

Social class factors to a defree affected whether a family had a porch. Virtually aff middle-class families that live in leafy areas with lawns had porches. This was not the case in inner city areas, even for expensive homes like brown stones. Here their might be back porches. The price of realestate was a factor, bur so was interpersonl intereaction. Inner city residents were less iterested in such intractions. People living in small towns and suburbs were. (Here by suburbs we mean city suburbs, not the fringe suburbs that developed after World War II. Poorer people were less likely to have a covered porch, although even the roughest shacks often had a front step similar to a porch, but commonly without a covering. We think that here cost was the major factor, but we are not entirely sure.

Usage

The front porch or veranda (back porch) was a kind of interelated area between the inside and outside play areas. A covered front porch was a wonderful play area for children. I recall a home we lived in during the late-1940s and 50s. It had a great front porch. My friends and I used it to play board and card games and to stage battles with our toy soldiers. We liked it because rules on roughhousing and making noise were not as struict as when plating inside. We cold even play there on a rainy day. A covered porch was a place where peope could catch a fresh breeze n a hot day and to greet neighbors. The front porch faced the street and thus were the site of many neighborly exchanges. The neighbors might stop by if they saw you on the front porch, pull up a chair, have a sit-down and "shoot the breeze". Many American growing up in the first half of the 20th century can recall spending countless hours on the front porch with friends watching cars and people, and talking about sports. It was also a great place for games of all kinds or trading baseball cards. The family might adjourn to the front porch after dinner. The adults might chat while they watch the little ones hunting fireflys. It was also a place for the older youngsters to get away from their partents. Boys might visit their girls.

Furniture

By the turn of the 20th century, no well appointed front porch was complete without a swing and whicker furniture. Rocking chairs werealso very popular.

Country Trends

This is especially the case of American homes. We think the porch is a living space especially identified with America. We think that porches were especially popular in the South. We are not entirely sure why we do not see many porches in other countries. Hopefully our readers will provide some insight here. We do not see many examples of front porches from other countries in the photographic record.

Chronology

The front porch in America was very important in the 19th century and first half of the 20th century. This was especially the case in small-town America. This changed after the move to the suburbs following Wirld War II. Factors here were smaller homes and the development of air conditioning.

Photography

The front porch was also a great place for photography, especially in the early 20th century when indoors photography was still a little complicated for amaeturs. The photographic record is full of images taken on the family front porch.







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Created: November 26, 2001
Last updated: 7:42 PM 1/21/2009