In many neighbourhoods in Ottawa, front porches seem like holdovers from another age. They are so rarely used, it’s almost as if residents are now embarrassed to be seen on them. Their long decline as a social space may have started as far back as the 1950s; the above video is from a Disney picture in 1963 and seems to be hearkening back to an era the filmmakers felt was already slipping away.
Do you have a front porch? Is it a welcoming space to hang out? And do you use it on a regular basis?
Spacing Ottawa contributor Erin O’Connell would love to hear from you. She’s been thinking a lot about front porches lately; their their cultural/functional role, the importance of design, and their symbolic role in neighbourhoods. She’ll be sharing her observations with us in the near future, but meanwhile we’d be keen to hear your front porch thoughts in the comment section below, or tweeted to us at @spacingottawa.
7 comments
Huh? Not sure what hood you are living in Spacing- but embarrassed to sit on the porch? We built a front porch 13 years ago and have been lovin sitting there ever since. The key is that is has to be big enough to get a gang of people on. Ours is 8 ft deep by 25 long, wrap around. Forget these shallow one seater wanna be porches — they are an embarrassment. Glad to say we are out there in the front, on the street greeting our neighbours and having porch sit downs, dinners and parties all spring, summer and fall! Oh and In the winter it nicely protects our wood pile.
PS Love the video!
It’s funny that you post something like this. We don’t currently have a front porch but have been dreaming about adding a wrap-around porch to our house.
I think they are very romantic and that most new homes nowadays are lacking the charm to have a decent porch (houses are built too close together and usually the garage takes up most of the front). I love walking in some of the older areas of town (e.g. Sandy Hill) and looking at some of the beautiful porches. It’s sad to hear people are “embarrassed” to use them, it’s a great place to people-watch or to hang with your friends!
We have long wanted a porch and we finally have one with our new place. It’s not a whopper like another post mentions, but ours comfortably fits 4 with a small table for refreshments. It’s one of our great pleasures to sit on the porch during a warm evening and look our over the world … sorta like coming home.
Our last place had a porch-wannabe – too shallow for use by more than 1 let alone 2 people. Close, but no cigar. This one provides the space and privacy on the sides we love. All the homes in our new subdivision have a porch and it adds to the sense of community and neighbourhood.
We certainly are not embarrassed to own one – we relish it and share it with our neighbours.
We have a front porch on a new home in Stittsville. In fact in our entire neighbourhood of Fairwinds, just about every home has a small porch included. The builder, Mattamy Homes, uses the porch specifically in their marketing.
Most of our neighbours have chairs or a bistro set on their porch – but we don’t often see people actually using their porch.
The porches do give the community a really nice look and create the impression that the houses are “outward looking” and in some way engaged with the neighbourhood. (Whether people actually sit out on them or not!)
We have a balcony that is atop our garage, which was meant to emulate a front porch in function. I use it occassionally, but not often, given that almost no one on our street does, so there’s no interaction out there.
I was just researching front porches and found you, Spacing Ottawa! In searching for a home to buy, I’ve become disheartened as my dream has always been to have a huge front porch…hard to find these days. I grew up in a small town in Indiana. Hanging out on the front porch is one of my most cherished childhood memories. Parents could watch all the kids playing up and down the street from the front porch. We would sit out there every evening in the summer…my grandparents would come over from next door and sit on our porch with us. My mom would bring down coffee for the adults, lemonade for the kids…we’d play games on the front steps while the adults chatted. We’d wave to folks walking by….we’d watch the fireworks in the park from our front porch on the 4th of July…When it was too hot inside to sleep, we’d come outside and sleep on the lawn chairs on the porch. Oh, those were the days. Who decided that everyone needed to avoid the front of their homes and needed all this privacy by living in the back? Builders? Architects? City planners? Is that why people live in a community? I don’t remember being glued to the tv all evening long…cancel your cable people. Build a front porch. And enjoy the life that is right outside your door and the people around you!