A Brief History of the Front Porch, Porticos, Piazzas, Terraces and Gazebos (part 1)
Patio furniture has been popular for hundreds of years. As trendy as outdoor rooms are today they were possibly even more elegant a few hundred years ago. Porticos, porches, piazzas, terraces and gazebos were the rage in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
A portico is a porch or walkway with a roof supported by columns, often leading to the entrance of a building. George Washington added a full length portico to Mount Vernon in the late 1700’s. It was a 94 foot piazza, a term quite commonly used in that era. In fact a piazza originally was an Italian design for a public square with room for pedestrians.
The Washington family did not have the availability of Amish crafted patio furniture but they did furnish their outdoor patio room with thirty Windsor chairs. Painted Windsor chairs where often used as outdoor patio furniture. In true Grecian style the Washingtons took tea outdoors.
Nowhere was the porch made as famous as in the South. Southern plantation home builders included massive wrap around porches that enjoyed the cool of the evening on a sweltering Southern night.
By the mid-1800’s porches on any size American home was common place. Large eighteenth century British homes had always had terraces to view their gardens from but soon they fell into the American porch fashion. Terraces were uncovered and often the garden held a gazebo for resting and enjoying the flora and fauna. Since gazebos were for the rich the idea of adding a porch to the home allowed even the commoner to enjoy the garden.
More United States presidents than George Washington are famous for their use of the porch. William McKinley ran for office from what appeared to be his front porch in his same named “front porch campaign”.
Tags: Amish, Furniture, gazebo, George Washington, Mount Vernon, Patio, piazza, portico, Porticos, Terraces, Washington, William McKinley, Windsor
