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A comment by a reader about their house with a carport at the entry got me thinking about carports and Mid-Century Modern housing design. Today, carports have been replaced with full garages in new construction, but there was a time not so long ago when carports were very much in fashion.
Campeau, 1964, Playfair Park
Campeau, 1961-62, Queensway Terrace and Riverside Park

Assaly, 1963, Woodroffe on the Green

The carport as the entry point to a house made sense for a society, and a suburban way of life, that embraced the car as a mode of transport. Scores of suburban families even today still arrive and depart from home by car, and thus enter and exit their house via the door from the house to the garage. Designers in the mid-century foresaw this trend, and thus put the front door right next to where the car would be parked.
Campeau, 1962, Riverside Park and Graham Park
Campeau, 1962, Riverside Park and Graham Park
Campeau, 1961-62, Queensway Terrace and Riverside Park
Campeau, 1961-62, Queensway Terrace and Riverside Park
Campeau, 1962, Riverside Park and Graham Park
Campeau, 1961-62, Queensway Terrace and Riverside Park

The carport allows for a degree of protection, yet still allows for the car to be on display. With the amount of money spent on a car, why not show it off? The design of Case Study House #21 by Pierre Koenig, has a wall of glass in the dining room overlooking the carport. In this case, the car takes centre stage as the view from within the house.


Case Study House #21 B, 1958, West Hollywood, California
As an extension of the roofline, the carport is often an integral part of the design scheme. While today garages frequently look like an afterthought to the design, many MCM houses are actually enhanced by the carport.
Campeau, 1961-62, Queensway Terrace and Riverside Park

Campeau, Riverside Park South

Campeau, 1965, Playfair Park South

Assaly, 1963, Woodroffe on the Green

Campeau, 1965, Playfair Park South
In some cases, having an open carport versus a garage, still allows for windows opening on to it. With these townhouses, having an enclosed garage would not have allowed for main floor windows on the front of the house.
Assaly, Westcliffe Estates
With a burgeoning consumer culture, carports did not satisfy the need for storage. Drive down any suburban street today, and it is not unusual to see a garage so full of stuff that it can no longer fit a car.
Even though carports have fallen out of fashion, I much prefer their open design to the blank garages of snout houses so often found in newer neighbourhoods.
Snout houses in Brampton, Ontario
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Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 14, 2011 at 9:59 PM

    Awesome! My house was in this bunch....how neat!

    - The original reader

    ReplyDelete
  2. SaulMarch 15, 2011 at 6:51 PM

    I was hoping that one of the plans would be for your house!

    To all my readers: please let me know if ever there is a plan and/or neighbourhood you would like me to feature on the blog.

    Thanks for reading!

    -Saul

    ReplyDelete
  3. AnonymousMarch 16, 2011 at 6:38 PM

    Would love to see a post on Applewood Acres (Alta Vista)

    ReplyDelete
  4. SaulMarch 20, 2011 at 6:29 PM

    Great idea. I will do a posting on Applewood Acres soon!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Prefab GaragesMarch 20, 2011 at 9:37 PM

    Thanks for sharing the sketches of building the garage. It is really a very helpful post for knowing the art of constructing a garage. The images you have presented gives us the detailed description which makes this post more impressive.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Urban GirlApril 2, 2011 at 6:15 PM

    Where are the Assaly Westcliffe estates?

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousApril 13, 2011 at 5:27 PM

    Can you feature Beacon Hill North/Rothwell Ridge/Rothwell Woods, with floor plans and possibly even marketing material by Campeau and Minto?

    Love the blog!

    ReplyDelete
  8. SaulApril 15, 2011 at 9:04 PM

    Hi Urban Girl. The Assaly townhomes in Westcliffe Estates are in Bell's Corners, on Seyton Drive, southwest of Moodie Drive and Robertson Road.

    ReplyDelete
  9. lrqAugust 22, 2011 at 8:48 PM

    Wow, I found my house on this site, B-50.
    Great site, looks like I'm taking a walk through my neighbourhood (Riverside Park).
    Do you have any other information like the "name" of the house and how many were built. Did they build them all with Red Cedar tongue and grove ceilings?

    Great site, thanks!!

    ReplyDelete
  10. SaulSeptember 6, 2011 at 2:01 PM

    I am glad you found the plan for you house on my blog! The B-50 is one of my favourite plans. Campeau never assigned names to the plans during the period that your house was built – instead they were given a letter and a number. For the most part, A line homes were 1 ½ storey plans, B line homes were bungalows and split level homes, and C line homes were two-story. I believe that all of the B-50s were built with cedar tongue and groove ceilings.

    On one of my older posts, there is an interior shot of a B-50 model. It is the National Builder Magazine page from 1966, and the photo is the one on the bottom right showing the cedar ceiling. Here is the link: http://modernrealtor.blogspot.com/2011/02/time-is-right-to-buy-mcm-house.html

    Thanks for reading my blog!
    Saul

    ReplyDelete
  11. AnonymousSeptember 9, 2011 at 5:42 PM

    I saw those photos and thats what my place looks like, without the bookshelf (that was taken out when I moved in). The ceilings are cedar tongue and groove, very unique, not many around like that.

    ReplyDelete
  12. AnonymousApril 22, 2012 at 8:58 AM

    Would love to see info on the Lexington model by Campeau, vintage 1964. We own one in Riverside Park South, s of walkley between McCarthy & Airport Pkwy. Love your work

    ReplyDelete
  13. AnonymousJune 13, 2012 at 11:58 AM

    I think my plan might be "Concord" by Campeau in Beacon Hill North, but it has 4 bedroom, 3 dormers and a 2 car garage. Do you know where I could find these plans? It has the centre hall design as you mention but I couldnt find the plans for the 4 bed 3 bath models.
    Thanks!!!

    ReplyDelete
  14. AnonymousSeptember 26, 2017 at 4:19 PM

    Hi Saul, You have an amazing blog! Thank you for the info, very interesting! Can you look into Nanaimo Drive area, near Bayshore Shopping Centre? The houses are absolutely gorgeous and unique, all of them a work of art. I love that area and grew up just down the street from there, called, "Fairfield Heights," in the Cavalier bungalow. I read all of your posts about Fairfield Heights but am wondering about the other houses/designs that aren't included in your blog on that street-- there are 2-storeys and other split levels. Also, what about MAGWOOD, the street parallel with Richmond Road, right beside Bell Family Manor estate? Thank you!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Saul SvirplysSeptember 28, 2017 at 6:46 PM

      Thank you for the note! Here is a link to a post on the Qualicum area including Nanaimo Drive: https://modernrealtor.blogspot.ca/2012/08/qualicum.html . There are some Campeau designs as well in Fairfield Heights, and it looks like a few of the houses on Magwood are Campeau designs. It also appears that there are some custom built houses as well in the area.

      Delete

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