Garages

Jackson in his book Landscape in Sight: Looking at America explains the transformation of garages. However, since his publication garages function and look have changed once again. The romantic garage explained by Jackson was for the very few at the time automobiles were being first made in the early 1900's. People who owned romantic garages were wealthy and could afford chauffeurs. The romantic garage served sometimes a carriage house, a garage for the car and a place of living for the chauffeur.

The practical garage was popular during the time were middle class Americans could afford automobliles and this happened during the 1920's and 1930's. These types of garages were box like and not attached to the home. They were small enough to fit a car, although in the 1930's a few wealthy people in California had the attached garage that became more popular as the century progressed.

The family garage became popular after world war II and it became the more common two car garage. This type of garage became attached to the homes and was used for recreation such as having a basketball hoop on it. The family garage was for storage of christmas lights, automobiles and other storage needs.

Today's modern garage depends on the person and how they want to use it. My next door neighbor uses his garage to build hot rods and does not park his motorcycle or car into. My family also does not use the garage to store cars. We use the garage to store our christmas decorations and pool supplies. I have noticed as I walked down my street other people's garages are empty and they use it for their cars. Others have put a spare fridge in their garage to hold extra food. When I went to Enfield, Connecticut in Feburary, I noticed that instead of garages a lot of homes had auto shelters, simply a roof over their cars. At my boyfriend's home they have a 5 car garage that is bigger than their home. They store cars for neighbors and their prized car like the romantic garage. It seems the modern garage is all three a romantic, pratical and family garage and it is up to the owner to decide its use.

Ranch houses

Ranch houses at the time Ray Tinkham built his was a extremely modern home and different from his previous home on his farm house that once belonged to his father. Ray Tinkham and his wife planned his new home which is considered a ranch house in today's standards. The Tinkham's wanted a few specific things about their homes and this included:

• A one story home that was functional for family needs such as cleaning and cooking. The Tinkham's felt that leisure time was rare because of school for the children, work for Ray and cleaning for his wife Shirley. They realized that if they did have leisure time, they spent it in their car.




• The location of the home was also important, previously the Tinkham's lived in a farm house not very close to the school or shops for Shirley. The Tinkham's wanted to move closer to the school about four blocks from the school, so the children could walk and Shirley could shop at supermarkets not far away from her home, so she could get back to her housekeeping duties faster than before.




• Another appeal of the ranch house to the Tinkham's is that it does not need constant care like a farm. The Tinkham's could go on vacation or relax on the weekends with out worrying about the upkeep of their home/livelyhood such as a farm.




• The Tinkham's wanted simplicity something different from Ray Tinkham's father's house. The Tinkham's did not want to show off their wealth through their home, they could show off their wealth through their car, their clothes, and their profession. This was something relatively new compared to Ray's father's generation where it was to believed that the home said it all. The home became practical for everyday life for the family not for their guests who would come over a few times out of the year. Shirley Tinkham said it best when asked why she did not have a separate dining room for guests in her home, she stated "Its more mouths to feed". The Ranch home really focuses on the family not company like other homes such as the victorian homes in the late 19th century and early 20th century.

Ranch homes and other small less extravagant homes were a product of the post war movement to give Americans especially in suburbs more options and help the overcrowding in homes and in urban areas. Places such as millersport highway or even streets in tonawanda have very small homes and some of them look almost identical except for the paint color or an addition added later on. I always wondered why these homes look the same and why anyone would want a tiny home. My aunt and uncle live in one of these small post war houses in North Tonawanda and after reading Jackson, I would describe their home functional. They have two floors, no basement and no attic. Upstairs, has three decent sized bedrooms. Downstairs has a living room a kitchen/ dining room, one bathroom, a room used for washing clothes and a small room used now as a computer room. Six people and a dog today live in this house, which surprises me since my home is bigger and we only have four people living in it. My victiorian home that my family used to reside was about twice as large as my aunt and uncles home but less people lived there. At this time of post war homes, the phrase less is more was evident in the homes. Cheap housing after the war was extremely needed to boost the economy and help create more families. Also at this time there was a shortage of homes, and some families were not happy with their current living situation of living with extended families. Homes now were created for the nuclear family not the extended family such as double homes.

American Tours Vs. European Tours

Tours in Europe for Americans and tours in America for Europeans are similar in the way that they both focus on the stereotypical landmarks such as the Eiffel tower in Paris or Niagara Falls in New York.

At affordabletours.com a tour for Americans in Paris was described as:

Spend four days in Paris! Your stay includes your choice of centrally located first-class hotel and services of a Local Host. Included morning sightseeing with a Local Guide features major highlights: the Arc de Triomphe, Opera, Champs-Eysées, as well as a visit to Notre Dame Cathedral and an ascent to the second floor of the Eiffel Tower. Afterward, enjoy the city at your own pace.

A tour in Italy named the "Taste of Italy" was described as:

This perfect 8-day Italian vacation covers Rome, Florence, and Venice with enough time to do your own explorations. Sightseeing with a Local Guide in all cities covers the must-see sights as, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, St. Peter’s Square and Basilica, the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel in Rome, Michelangelo’s celebrated David statue, the cathedral, and sculpture-studded Signoria Square in Florence, as well as St. Mark’s Square and Basilica, and the Doges’ Palace and the Bridge of Sighs in Venice. The full day at leisure in Venice gives you the opportunity to join an optional excursion the island of Burano, and of course a special welcome dinner in Rome and a private boat-ride in Venice are included.

It seems as though both these tours want to show Americans familiar and stereotypical landmarks that most Americans learn about in grammar school. Perhaps this is a marketing move for Americans to only see what they know. Americans seem to be intrigued by European tours because the amount of history and the amount of area is greater then in America itself.

Tours for Europeans in America also have the stereotypical site seeing stops such as New York City but surprisingly they have stops in Colorado at mountain resorts. I am surprised because most Americans on their site seeing tours of their own nation would not put Colorado at the top of their site seeing list.

At getamericatours.com they offer several different tours for foreigners such as:

National Park tours in the west, Niagara falls tours combined with seeing the Nation's capital in four short days, California tours, and tours combined with sites in Canada.

It seems that Europeans understand cities such as NYC exist but they imagine America as a cowboy country and they want to see the West. Both interpretations of America and Europe both have the factor that both tours want to see territory that is not found in their home country which is based on stereotypical assumptions of what both places are mostly famous for.

Architectural Scavenger Hunt

Classic Greek Architecture: The Parthenon
These homes, businesses, and government buildings have been influenced by the parthenon, sometimes by its entirety or partial features such as the pillars.




Bethany Presbytarian Church built in 1869, located in Charles City County, Virginia

Thomas Jefferson's plantation home, Monticello in Virginia built in 1809.

The exact replica of the Parthenon located in Nashville, Tennessee. It was built in 1897 out of wood and plaster and in 1920 it was made out of concrete. Today it serves as an art gallery

A home in Saratoga, New York.

The White House, Washington, D.C.

A Bank in Brantford, Ontario

The Albright-Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo, NY.

"Money and Class"

Los Angeles, California

Listing Price: $6,999,000

Features of this house include:

GATED ESTATE AMAZING FOR ENTERTAINING W 6 BD / 10BA & CITY, CANYON, AND OCEAN VIEWS TO CATALINA. 6 F/PLS. HUGE ROOMS W FLOOR TO CEILING WINDOWS. LUXURIOUS MSTR SUITE W HIS/HER WALK-INS. NEW GOURMET KITCHEN, STUDY, FAMILY ROOM, GYM, MEDIA ROOM, WINE CELLAR, STEAM & DRY SAUNAS, ALL MAHOGANY DOORS, POOL, SPA, DECKS, GRASSY YARD, 3 FOUNTAINS & WATERFALL. 10-ZONE SOUND, PARTY TENTING SYSTEM, FINGERPRINT ACCESS, SECURITY SYSTEM, LUTTON LIGHTING, AQUARIUM, EVERY AMENITY.

This house screams "money and class" with the luxury features such as fingerprint access and three fountains. I chose this house because it is the stereotypical rich Los Angeles home.

Williamsville's Street Furniture

The Mission:
On January 29, 2008 around 7pm, the quest to find Williamsville's unique "street furniture" began. On this journey, the exploration started on main street in the Hampton Inn Parking lot near the street Los Robles st and finished near the williamsville cemetery by grove street. Both sides of the street were studied and there were many similarities and differences.

Similarities:

• Both sides have the same brick patterns.
  
• Most of the buildings were made of brick.


• Parking for these shops in the radius stated above was in the rear or in a designated public parking spot with the exception of the Hampton Inn.


• The lighting for this radius of main street has modern day street lights with pedestrian buttons to cross the street.

Differences:

• On the side where the Hampton Inn is located the power lines went from a few wires to more wires when going west.


• The opposite side has no power lines.


• The sidewalk where the cemetery is located has "spooky" thick looking trees which are in abundance. The opposite side of the street has thin trees spread apart.

Unclear Observations:

• The brick that is part of the street furniture is hard to determine the age or if it was reused.


• Some of the buildings that are made of brick are hard to determine their age as well if some of the shops were completely renovated such as the brick Starbucks on the corner of California st.

Interesting Observations:

• The Starbucks on California st and main street had interesting landscape. Outside there were tall plants that looked like wheat.


• The cemetery sidewalk had no brick just a sidewalk in between grass.
• The location of the chain hotel the Hampton Inn right in the rite aid plaza and within walking distance of these shops, is something I have not come across before. In this location of the Hampton inn, a historical marker shows where an old ice house was located.

"Just Guessing"

• The brick buildings on main street in williamsville have been there for over fifty years maybe over a hundred.


• Not all of the buildings are made from the original brick or are imitations such as the Starbucks.


• These buildings are mostly "mom and pop" shops and trendy stores, their existence may be gone in ten or twenty years if chain stores begin to move in this neighborhood.


• This specific part of the street was created as the center of Williamsville with stores for the populations needs.

Hampton Inn Hotel located on main street in Williamsville, NY