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Distributed for University Press of New England

Porches of North America

The porch, whether simple or grand, evokes feelings of welcome, comfort, and nostalgia in all of us, yet there has been little published on the history of this omnipresent architectural feature. This book examines how porches in their many forms have evolved in the United States and Canada through innovations, adaptations, and revivals. Covering formal porches and verandas, as well as the many informal vernacular types, this book proffers insights into broad cultural customs and patterns, as well as regional preferences and usage. Lavishly illustrated with contemporary and historic photographs, Porches of North America provides a chronological and typological framework for identifying historic porches. All those who love to while away afternoons on a favorite porch will find this architectural history delightful as well as informative.

304 pages | 7 1/4 x 10 1/4 | © 2012

Architecture: History of Architecture


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Table of Contents

Preface • HISTORY • Covered Approach • Loggias, Portales, and Corredores • Monterey Porches • French Galleries • Dogtrots • Dutch Influences • Stoops and Perrons • Symbolic Stages • English and American Piazzas • Veranda(h)s • Fashionable Retreats and Final Resorts • Summer Places • Most Public Place • Public Intimacy and Peculiar Privacy • Photographic Glimpses of Porch Life • Casinos and Clubhouses • Screened Porches • Cure Porches and Sleeping Porches • Porch Enclosures and Sun Porches • Changing Attitudes • CHARACTER, FUNCTIONS, AND FURNISHINGS • Location and Orientation • Dimensions and Plans • Twining Edges • Sounds • Porch Furniture • CLASSICAL ORDER • Porticos and Colonnades • Georgian • Neoclassical: Adam, Federal, and Classical Revival • Regency • Greek Revival • Renaissance Revival • Neoclassical Revival • Arcades • VARIOUS FORMS • Enclosed Attached Entry Porches • Open Attached Entry Porches • Side and Rear Porches • Charleston Piazzas • Arcaded Piazzas • Side-Wing Porches • Recessed Multitiered Porches • Gable Loggias • Attached Multitiered Porches and Galleries • Lattice Piazzas and Porches • Shotgun Porches • Porte-Cocheres • Marquees • VICTORIAN PORCH STYLES • Gothic Revival • Rustic • Bracketed Mode and Italianate Style • French Second Empire • Octagons • Richardsonian Romanesque • Stick Style • Queen Anne • Shingle Style • Colonial Revival • POST-VICTORIAN STYLES • Prairie • American Foursquare • Mission Revival • Craftsman Movement • Bungalows • Catalogue Porches • Tudor Revival • Modern Movement and International Style • Epilogue • Notes • Glossary of Porch Terms • Index

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