Architecture of Cape Cod

Architecture is really an eloquent expression of who we are. It depicts our history. It's as important as the stories we tell.

Cape Cod is recognized for a lot of things. We have our beaches and pristine natural settings. But, what is really under recognized is our architecture. Cape Cod has a very rich vernacular heritage.

An array of how home styles.. very different home styles.. built during various eras.

In 1800, the President of Yale University Timothy Dwight vacationed on the Cape and he came upon these small houses and he deemed them a style unto their own.

He called them Cape Cod style houses. They were small one and a half story houses. Very simple with low ceilings and little ornamentation. People who lived there were not interested in impressing their neighbors.

They were basic structures meant for sleeping and eating and not much else.

Toward the end of the 18th century, Cape Cod harbors were bustling and as the community came upon the whaling era, Captains who went out to sea became very wealthy.

And the architecture changed then. And as they built homes that were testaments to their prosperity.

You see Georgian, Greek Revival, and even a wonderful example of a French Empire style home. These were much larger houses. More sophisticated and elaborate with wonderful details and the finest of furnishings. People really started to grasp the concept of decorating their homes.

By about the 1880s, train travel made Cape Cod accessible for people from Boston and New York.

And wealthy people started to flock to the area as a summer destination. They built homes in the style of English Country Manors and Queen Anne that were really quite lavish summer palaces.

They were designed for entertaining and hosting over night guests. The level of craftsmanship that went into these homes was really amazing. You see large scale spaces. Most of which were intended for entertaining. You see intricate carvings on fireplace mantles... fireplace surrounds. You also see imported tile and wide open staircases.

After World War II, important European architects... Marcel Breuer and Walter Gropius settled in Boston. They and a bunch of their accolades came to the Cape in the summer and used it as a laboratory for experimentation. They built very humble modest structures with wide expanses of glass and decks that went all around the house. So they could essentially live in nature. It was a time of experimenting with new materials. Certainly lots different types of wood but also concrete and Homasote which was the first material made of recycled consumer waste.

People come to the Cape to go to the beach to fish to boat to play golf. Another thing to add to that list is to take an architectural tour..