Page 71 - Flathead Living // Spring 2015

LEFT The historic Adams House features a front porch that is patriotic, folksy and inviting.
Throughout the Flathead, one can find front porches of nearly every shape and style: whether horseshoe-curved, wraparound, or partially enclosed. And in taking notice of front porches (which may now suddenly seem everywhere), you’ll find they are somehow unique. Adirondack chairs bolster some, while rockers comfort others – and altogether, porch styles may seem as varied as the personalities of their owners.
But beyond the style and furnishings, more inviting front porches come to life – literally – as folks use their front porch in a way they were initially intended: for outdoor living and leisure. Incidentally, the Flathead (as we know it) started at a time when front porches were at their peak of popularity. Porches became increasingly popular in the 1840s and 1850s. However, it wasn’t until the 1890s and early 1900s that porches came to prominence – about the same time towns throughout the Flathead Valley were platted, whether Bigfork, Columbia Falls, Kalispell, Polson, or Whitefish.
And much like the origin of the very word itself (Old French “porche” or Latin “porticus”), porches originally served as a shelter at the entrance to a home. Similarly, in the late Victorian era, porches protected guests from the elements, but also provided a buffer between the “modern world” outside, and the private sanctuary inside.
Indeed, front porches were also influenced by cultural phenomena, such as the ideology of “connecting with nature” and lofty social ideals, such as asserting one’s status by putting leisure on display. In the 1890s, porches were crammed full of ferns, chairs aplenty, tables of nearly every fare and flair, and other essentials of the era. As if walking around in a hoop skirt wasn’t trouble enough, going from one end of a porch to the other was quite an obstacle course (both socially and logistically).
As architectural styles evolved, Queen Annes gave way to Craftsmans, and porches evolved as well. The popular Craftsman style reckoned front porches as a formidable negative space – one that equally challenged notions of architectural form, and equally provided function, albeit in a far more minimalist manner
JENNIFER SHELLEY
REALTOR®
COMMITTED TO HELPING YOU FIND YOUR DREAM IN THE FLATHEAD VALLEY
• BOARD MEMBER OF “CLAYS FOR KIDS” – SUPPORTING HOMELESS AND HUNGRY CHILDREN OF THE FLATHEAD VALLEY
• NSCA CERTIFIED INSTRUC- TOR FOR SPORTING CLAYS
• TWO TIME MONTANA LADIES STATE SPORTING CLAYS CHAMPION
“In one of the toughest real estate markets in history, I’ve closed 150 transactions over the last five years. My sales put me in the top 2% in 2014 and top 5% in 2013 in the Flathead Valley.”*
National Parks Realty 8270 MT Hwy 35 • Suite 5 Bigfork, MT 59911
JENNIFER SHELLEY mobile 406.249.8929 office 406.837.1249 [email protected] www.nationalparksrealty.com
*Based on information from the Northwest Montana Association of REALTORS® MLS, Inc. (alternatively, from the NMAR MLS) for the period January 1, 2013 through December 31, 2014.
SPRING 2015 | FLATHEAD LIVING 69