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In Praise of Porches

© Barbara Nicholson Bell

I have a wonderful front porch. It extends nearly the width of my little bungalow and is about 10 feet deep. Its narrow columns, rail and ballisters are painted white, the floor is grey with a bright blue rug, and the ceiling is brown beadboard. The wide overhanging roof protects us from all but the worst of summer thunderstorms, while we sit watching the lightning all around us in the night. A lazy summer afternoon's sounds can lull me to sleep - someone mows his lawn down the street, the cicadas' song rises and falls - surely the best place (and reason) for a nap!

Porches are an American tradition, but of course they didn't originate here. The word "porch" comes from the Greek "portico" and the Latin "porticus", which described a columned space at the entrance to a temple. This sheltered entrance was a key architectural element in public buildings in ancient times, but the porch as we know it really became the most recognizable feature of American residential design from the 1840's until the end of World War II. After the war, porches seemed to decline in favor, as builders convinced potential homeowners that the backyard was much more convenient, the popularity of television made our living rooms the place to gather, and garages (the larger the better) became the "face" our houses showed the neighbors.

Up until the early 19th century, most residences in the North and Northeast US were built in the styles of northern Europe and England. These architectural styles were primarily early Colonial, Georgian or Federal, none of which featured porches. In the South, however, there was more of a French and Spanish influence. The French and Spanish colonies in the Caribbean contributed stylistic details, and the "veranda" was chief among them.

The veranda usually extended the full width of the front of the building, and sometimes wrapped around the sides as well. The deep overhanging roof protected the interior from the Southern sun, as well as giving shelter from tropical rains. Spanish-influenced styles featured a covered balcony, often extending the width of the house, which also provided shade to rooms in upper stories.

Beginning in the 1830's and up to the Civil War, the Greek Revival style introduced porches with massive columns, reminiscent of the temple porticos of ancient times. While we usually associate these columned porches with antebellum Southern mansions, even modest farmhouses throughout New York and other Northern states exhibited stately columns. Many small town Main Streets in New York feature Greek Revival homes built in the 1830's from the wealth produced by the Erie Canal (completed in 1820).