The Back Porch
[A row of porches, Kenmore Avenue, Chicago /Image & Artwork: designslinger]
In many cities around the country, you will find the words townhouse, row house,
walk-up, flat, tenement, brownstone, greystone, used to describe a three or four story multi-unit apartment building. No matter what you call them, and no matter how many different versions there are in each city, there is one architectural element that I have found absolutely unique to Chicago's 2-flat and 3-flat buildings, the back porch.
[Chicago's back porch /Images & Artwork: designslinger]
I haven't been to every city in the U.S. but I've visited my fair share, and I've never seen
wood stairs, railings and spindles piled up against the backs of blocks of buildings like I have here. If you've been to New York, or seen pictures of the city, think fire escapes. You know, the iron stairways that hang from the front of thousands of buildings. They "say" New York as much as the Empire State Building does. Same with Chicago's porches and Willis(Sears) Tower, the Cubs, Chicago-style hot dogs or deep dish pizza.
[A Chicago-style back porch /Image & Artwork: designslinger]
The Chicago-style porch began to appear at the backside of buildings in the residential
construction explosion of the 1890s and carried on into the 1920s. Built primarily as a safety measure (a rear exit in case of fire) the back porch came into existence, unlike in a place like New York or Boston, because there was space for them. Back in the early days, planners laid out a street grid that included public service alleys, and left room on housing plots for backyards.
The porch often became the main entrance to people's apartments because the back
door lead directly into the kitchen. Better that than using the front door and mess up the living room carpet. Kitchen linoleum was so much easier to keep clean. The porch also provided easy access to the garage out back, as well as to the trash bins located in the alley. It was also very handy for hanging out the laundry before the dryer became a common household feature. When I was a kid we didn't have air conditioning, and the porch was a nice retreat from our hot apartment. I have no idea how people use their porches today, but I'm sure with Spring in the air and summer approaching, even if you do have air conditioning, it's still a nice place to take a minute, relax, and have a beer. And, it's still the quickest and easiest way to get to the garbage cans.
Posted by designslinger at 4/12/2010 2:39 AM 
Categories: Architecture, Urbanism, Ephemera
Tags: Chicago porches
Categories: Architecture, Urbanism, Ephemera
Tags: Chicago porches
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