Evolution of Garages in Eau Claire, WI Jessica Hassinger & Nate Nushart Geography 367 Interim 2010
Research Methods: Fieldwork Sample size: 265 garages Research areas ▫Student ghetto, mostly 19 th century houses ▫Suburban area, mostly newer houses ▫Dates ranging
Research Methods: Assessor's Office "Eau Claire, WI - Online Property Assessment Database - Search." Invisible, Inc Web. 09 June Looked up street name and number Used year built in our data Looked at number of garages on web cite Compared and contrasted to what we saw in the field
Types of Garages Researched Detached Breezeway Corner-attached Half-attached Fully attached
Types of Garages by Percent
Average Year of Garage Types The detached double on our data comes earlier than the detached single which doesn’t flow with the rest of the data and the hypothesis that single garages types came before double garage types. Further research is suggested to either confirm or deny this data.
Evolution of Garages by Decade
Carriage Houses in the 19 th Century “The borrowing of French garage, which is first recorded in 1802 in the sense ‘place where one docks’” (freedictionary.com) Horse-drawn carriages Poor people had sheds for their hay, maybe for one horse Rich people had carriage houses Carriage houses were detached from house Carriage drive-ups were attached to the house ▫Much like garages are attached to the house today ▫Carriage drive-up is attached to a prototype of the breezeway ▫Men and ladies of the house didn’t have to go out in the rain to enter carriage
Garages in 1900s – 1930s Detached garages were very popular Usually made out of wood or cut stone Overhead doors were unheard of before 1920
Garages and Alleyways Most garages are detached Photo taken in student ghetto At least ten garages in one block Some are new/redone Others are older Convenient for multiple-person houses with more than one car Some garages used exclusively for storage
Garages in 1940s – Present First came one car attached garages In the late 1950s two car attached garages were more common 3+ car garages now common in suburbs Almost everyone owns car Almost everyone then needs or wants a garage
Works Cited Barnes, Marjorie, and Others. Eau Claire Landmarks. Eau Claire: Eau Claire Landmarks Commission, Print. "Eau Claire, WI - Online Property Assessment Database - Search." Invisible, Inc Web. 09 June "Garage - Definition of Garage by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia." Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary Web. 09 June "Garage Door Opener." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia Web. 09 June Guarantee!, Our Service. "Garage - Google Search." Google Web. 09 June Hassinger, Jessica L. Garages/Houses/Alleyway Photographs slides 4-5. Eau Claire, WI. Rauch, Mike. "The Evolution of Garage Door Tracks." Professional Door Dealer - Business and Management Resources for Garage-door and Access-control Professionals Web. 09 June 2010.