I am always amazed when people try to defend the suburban lifestyle as the ”American way of life”.  The truth is that before the utter domination of the automobile, housing and the way people lived was very different.  While homes of today welcome visitors with massive garages and inhospitable driveways, homes at the turn of the 20th century and before used the front porch as an extension of the house to welcome visitors and guests. 

The front porch in fact has been a dominant element of American residential architecture for generations that creates a connection between resident and the street directly outside.   Although used slightly differently from place to place, the basic idea remains the same. All porches allow sufficient space for a person to comfortably pause before entering or after exiting the building.  When covered, a porch not only provides protection from sun or rain but may also form, in effect, an extra exterior room that may accommodate chairs, tables and other furniture, to be used as living space.

The front porch allows a resident to build community ties — rather than segregating residential activities to the inside of the house or back yard as is done in the Miami suburban home — the front porch brings residential activities to edge of the sidewalk.  This in turn provides active, diverse, and safe streets that are inhabited by people throughout the day.  A row of front porches is quite hospitable in comparison to garages, driveways, and cars.

Squirrel Hill, a neighborhood that boomed at the turn of the 20th century just outside of Downtown Pittsburgh shows the varied and innovative use of the front porch throughout the neighborhood.  The front porch is a dominant architectural feature and identifable element of residential construction in the neighborhood.  Whether it is a single family residence, a brick mansion, a duplex, or a low-rise or mid-rise apartment building — almost every single residential building in the neighborhood has some type of front porch incorporated into the building. 

Within the neighborhood of Squirrel Hill I saw the use of shared porches and private porches.  I saw porches on the side of the building, porches incorporated into the building, elevated porches, small porches just big enough to stand in, and large porches covering the width of the entire building.  The architectural style of the front porch also varied from building to building — from tall Greek revival  to simple brick. 

The following is an an architectural photographic gallery of front porches in the neighborhood of Squirrel Hill.

Walking the streets of Squirrel Hill I found people constantly using their front porch for various activities.  I saw people eating breakfast one morning as they observed life on the street. I also saw a various groups of elderly people sitting out enjoying the day.  On more than one occasion, I started conversation with someone sitting on their porch who was curios as to why I was taking pictures.  Overall, the front porch was well used by the residents of Squirrel Hill to build community ties and stimulate interaction on the street.

It is important to note that the front porch is an element made possible by the placement of parking at the side of the building.  As in Miami, placing the driveway, garage, and therefore the vehicles directly  in front of a building creates a physical barrier between the residence and the street.  Pushing parking to the side and placing an occupiable human space instead allows for a stronger social and physical connection between the building and street.  It also creates more walkable  and livable streets.

Such was the case in the Brickell neighborhood in Miami, where a business owner recently converted parking directly in front of a building into an elevated and occupiable porch, conducive to walkable streets.

Related posts:

1. Brick and Stone Use in Squirrel Hill
2. Housing Diversity in Squirrel Hill – Key to a Successful Neighborhood
3. Outdoor Terrace in Charleston
4. Urban Doorways in San Francisco
5. San Francisco Bay Window