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The American Porch: An Informal History of an Informal Place
The American Porch, featured on NPR Weekend Edition, CBS Sunday Morning, USA Today, and in the Chicago Tribune, relates the colorful and surprising history of the porch in a lively journey through architecture, literature, film, photography, and pop culture, from ancient Greece to modern day.
Solidly researched and engagingly written, The American Porch weaves many narratives into its larger story-how the word "stoic" originated, how James Ives got Nathaniel Currier to begin chronicling ordinary American life, how the "front porch campaign" became a staple of American politics, why filmmakers and novelists love the porch, and how the porch, after vanishing from American domestic architecture after World War II, has made a comeback thanks to preservationists and the New Urbanist movement in town planning and domestic architecture.
The book begins with the renovation of Dolan's own porch, which led him on a journey of inquiry that took unexpected directions. According to Dolan, "When my wife and I rebuilt our porch, I felt a very deep emotion, as if I was reconnecting with something. I hadn't grown up in houses with front porches-my folks had a brick colonial and later a Cape Cod, then a rambler. I started wondering why I felt such a powerful connection to the experience of being on a front porch."
Readers of The American Porch will understand and celebrate that connection-in the evening hours on their front porches, if they are lucky.
The book begins with the renovation of Dolan's own porch, which led him on a journey of inquiry that took unexpected directions. According to Dolan, "When my wife and I rebuilt our porch, I felt a very deep emotion, as if I was reconnecting with something. I hadn't grown up in houses with front porches--my folks had a brick colonial and later a Cape Cod, then a rambler. I started wondering why I felt such a powerful connection to the experience of being on a front porch."
Readers of THE AMERICAN PORCH will understand and celebrate that connection--in the evening hours on their front porches, if they are lucky.
Solidly researched and engagingly written, The American Porch weaves many narratives into its larger story-how the word "stoic" originated, how James Ives got Nathaniel Currier to begin chronicling ordinary American life, how the "front porch campaign" became a staple of American politics, why filmmakers and novelists love the porch, and how the porch, after vanishing from American domestic architecture after World War II, has made a comeback thanks to preservationists and the New Urbanist movement in town planning and domestic architecture.
The book begins with the renovation of Dolan's own porch, which led him on a journey of inquiry that took unexpected directions. According to Dolan, "When my wife and I rebuilt our porch, I felt a very deep emotion, as if I was reconnecting with something. I hadn't grown up in houses with front porches-my folks had a brick colonial and later a Cape Cod, then a rambler. I started wondering why I felt such a powerful connection to the experience of being on a front porch."
Readers of The American Porch will understand and celebrate that connection-in the evening hours on their front porches, if they are lucky.
The book begins with the renovation of Dolan's own porch, which led him on a journey of inquiry that took unexpected directions. According to Dolan, "When my wife and I rebuilt our porch, I felt a very deep emotion, as if I was reconnecting with something. I hadn't grown up in houses with front porches--my folks had a brick colonial and later a Cape Cod, then a rambler. I started wondering why I felt such a powerful connection to the experience of being on a front porch."
Readers of THE AMERICAN PORCH will understand and celebrate that connection--in the evening hours on their front porches, if they are lucky.
346 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 2002
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
October 24, 2010
I ABSOLUTELY LOVED this book!! I usually read really serious books, but it was fun to just get lost in the history of the porch. Now I just love front porches!! The old fashioned big kind with a swing and wicker chairs and a dog -- the works. The kind you sit on of an afternoon so you can talk with the neighbors passing by. Dreamy.
November 21, 2020
As a kid of the suburbs Chicago with a deck and a teen of different suburbs of Chicago with a concrete slab off the back of a townhouse, my first (and probably only), house as an adult was built in 1904 in a now historic neighborhood where everyone has a front porch.
That tells you very little about the actual book.
It is an easy read. Lots of information. A literary echo chamber to my love of my porch. Many interesting pit stops in history and culture.
That tells you very little about the actual book.
It is an easy read. Lots of information. A literary echo chamber to my love of my porch. Many interesting pit stops in history and culture.
July 11, 2020
Quick, fun read about the porch. A well-researched book so I learned a lot. Also delighted to see the author hates decks.
#DownWithDecks
“Postwar housing stressed interior life, with kitchens and dining rooms that flowed into one another and often out onto the back patio. The ranch in particular drew praise as an exciting new type that rebelled against the oppressive bungalow (which, you’ll recall, was sold as a rebellion against the oppressive Victorian styles, which were sold as a rebellion against Gothic Revival, which was sold as a rebellion against Greek Revival, which was based on an actual rebellion, which was inspired by the American Revolution).
#DownWithDecks
“Postwar housing stressed interior life, with kitchens and dining rooms that flowed into one another and often out onto the back patio. The ranch in particular drew praise as an exciting new type that rebelled against the oppressive bungalow (which, you’ll recall, was sold as a rebellion against the oppressive Victorian styles, which were sold as a rebellion against Gothic Revival, which was sold as a rebellion against Greek Revival, which was based on an actual rebellion, which was inspired by the American Revolution).
July 23, 2023
The title pretty much sums it up...it's the history of porches. I enjoyed it. Three and a half stars.
January 6, 2025
Well-researched and well written book. Very interesting topic and fascinating history.
June 20, 2024
Great summer read for nonfiction lovers
In this season of "beach reads," here comes a great book for those of us who hunger for knowledge, even on vacation. Michael Dolan's "The American Porch" runs just over 300 pages and though you'd think there's no way that could be anything but a bunch of filler--because what is there to say about a porch, really?--this book is a fantastic cultural, historical and geographical examination of a bit of architecture most of us take for granted.
I grew up in a house with a large front porch, one of the main reasons my mother knew it was the right house for her family (being around the corner from the public library was another). Why does having a front porch seem so necessary for some of us when we're looking to buy a house?
Dolan answers this question as he unravels the complicated beginnings of the American porch, shows us how images of the porch have been used to influence our opinions of people and places, and so much more.
It sounds boring, but Dolan's engaging narrative makes the architectural insights and other more academic aspects of the topic interesting and engaging. Odd to say about a book about a part of a house, but I could barely put this book down.
Sometimes I wish I'd bought a hard copy of a book rather than the e-version so I could put it on a shelf where I can pull it down and flip through it now and again. This is one of those books, especially when I'm thinking about taking something out on the porch to read.
In this season of "beach reads," here comes a great book for those of us who hunger for knowledge, even on vacation. Michael Dolan's "The American Porch" runs just over 300 pages and though you'd think there's no way that could be anything but a bunch of filler--because what is there to say about a porch, really?--this book is a fantastic cultural, historical and geographical examination of a bit of architecture most of us take for granted.
I grew up in a house with a large front porch, one of the main reasons my mother knew it was the right house for her family (being around the corner from the public library was another). Why does having a front porch seem so necessary for some of us when we're looking to buy a house?
Dolan answers this question as he unravels the complicated beginnings of the American porch, shows us how images of the porch have been used to influence our opinions of people and places, and so much more.
It sounds boring, but Dolan's engaging narrative makes the architectural insights and other more academic aspects of the topic interesting and engaging. Odd to say about a book about a part of a house, but I could barely put this book down.
Sometimes I wish I'd bought a hard copy of a book rather than the e-version so I could put it on a shelf where I can pull it down and flip through it now and again. This is one of those books, especially when I'm thinking about taking something out on the porch to read.
April 13, 2015
An entertaining volume on the origins and subsequent development of the front porch; although the style is often flippant, the information is interesting.
For example, the front porch was not a feature of domestic architecture in England, the source of many of the first European immigrants to N. America, but it was a feature of homes in Africa. Caribbean indigenous peoples also used wrap-around porches and built their homes on stilts. The author traces the development of porches in the Caribbean to these two groups, and traces the diffusion of the style to N. America to the contacts between the Caribbean and N. America, especially the adoption of the style in Carolina. A second influence was that of the adoption of Roman porticoes in Europe - also known as galleries in N. America. The blending of these two influences led to the widespread adoption of the architectural feature, which went through eras of greater or lesser popularity. At the time the book was written, in 2001, the porch was regaining some popularity vs. the deck, but the mania for the porch had peaked and declined with the advent of air-conditioning, TV, years before - the decline started early in the 20th century but then accelerated after the Second World War, when ranch, Colonial, and Cape Cod style houses became standard in suburbia - none of which include front porches (although many may have rear porches, or patios, and some may have enclosed/screened in side porches).
The idea of porches as a means of promoting neighborhood cohesiveness is discussed; whether having the feature can change residents' experience of a neighborhood. I think, 14 years on, with the unending focus on our "navels" - that is our smartphones - the answer is that porches alone cannot promote neighborliness and its benefits. Time and technology have advanced. Unfortunately, the replacement to the front porch, or earlier still, the gathering around the cracker barrel at the general store to discuss current events, in the age of social media isn't neighborly or supportive at all, may be quite the opposite of a benefit, since it invariably leads to snark or abuse. This sort of interaction would have been quite unlikely IRL - either on a porch or at the general store. Anonymously commenting, although it is a form of free speech and so as such I support it even if it is snarky, nasty, or otherwise un-constructive, is similar to a conversation that might be held at a bar after a few drinks, when social constraints begin to crumble and if a person has an axe to grind, then the nastiness will come out. The comment fields of articles give to people anonymously commenting the "freedom" to remove their social constraints or masks and say things they would never say in real life - that's the "benefit" of our modern age, that's the replacement of the front porch or the general store. Although not every conversation of course ends up as a battle of snark, social media, and the ability to comment endlessly and anonymously has made it even less likely that people will return to the in contrast "much less exciting" front porch, unfortunately. That is why you see almost every person glued to their smart phone, day and night; it's much more convenient than paying visits, phoning, or simply socializing in a public space or even on a porch. It potentially is the reverse of "socializing" in the sense of furthering cohesiveness and discussion. Luckily, the snark/nastiness is just limited to online discussions usually among anonymous individuals - a game, but consider it in contrast to chatting amiably on a porch.
For example, the front porch was not a feature of domestic architecture in England, the source of many of the first European immigrants to N. America, but it was a feature of homes in Africa. Caribbean indigenous peoples also used wrap-around porches and built their homes on stilts. The author traces the development of porches in the Caribbean to these two groups, and traces the diffusion of the style to N. America to the contacts between the Caribbean and N. America, especially the adoption of the style in Carolina. A second influence was that of the adoption of Roman porticoes in Europe - also known as galleries in N. America. The blending of these two influences led to the widespread adoption of the architectural feature, which went through eras of greater or lesser popularity. At the time the book was written, in 2001, the porch was regaining some popularity vs. the deck, but the mania for the porch had peaked and declined with the advent of air-conditioning, TV, years before - the decline started early in the 20th century but then accelerated after the Second World War, when ranch, Colonial, and Cape Cod style houses became standard in suburbia - none of which include front porches (although many may have rear porches, or patios, and some may have enclosed/screened in side porches).
The idea of porches as a means of promoting neighborhood cohesiveness is discussed; whether having the feature can change residents' experience of a neighborhood. I think, 14 years on, with the unending focus on our "navels" - that is our smartphones - the answer is that porches alone cannot promote neighborliness and its benefits. Time and technology have advanced. Unfortunately, the replacement to the front porch, or earlier still, the gathering around the cracker barrel at the general store to discuss current events, in the age of social media isn't neighborly or supportive at all, may be quite the opposite of a benefit, since it invariably leads to snark or abuse. This sort of interaction would have been quite unlikely IRL - either on a porch or at the general store. Anonymously commenting, although it is a form of free speech and so as such I support it even if it is snarky, nasty, or otherwise un-constructive, is similar to a conversation that might be held at a bar after a few drinks, when social constraints begin to crumble and if a person has an axe to grind, then the nastiness will come out. The comment fields of articles give to people anonymously commenting the "freedom" to remove their social constraints or masks and say things they would never say in real life - that's the "benefit" of our modern age, that's the replacement of the front porch or the general store. Although not every conversation of course ends up as a battle of snark, social media, and the ability to comment endlessly and anonymously has made it even less likely that people will return to the in contrast "much less exciting" front porch, unfortunately. That is why you see almost every person glued to their smart phone, day and night; it's much more convenient than paying visits, phoning, or simply socializing in a public space or even on a porch. It potentially is the reverse of "socializing" in the sense of furthering cohesiveness and discussion. Luckily, the snark/nastiness is just limited to online discussions usually among anonymous individuals - a game, but consider it in contrast to chatting amiably on a porch.
September 15, 2015
It is interesting to know the history of the various types of porches found in America, but I did skim parts that became a little tedious. Couple of friends have read it and also enjoyed the historical aspects. Good stories that related to people in history and understanding why various types of porches exist in different parts of the country.
Aug 07, 2015 10:42PM ·
Aug 07, 2015 10:42PM ·
March 27, 2008
Good stories and mostly good history.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews