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's recognized for a lot
of things. I mean you've got our
beaches, the pristine natural settings.
But what is really under recognized is the
architecture. Cape Cod has a very rich
vernacular heritage. An array of 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 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 storey houses, very
simple, low ceilings, and little
ornamentation. People who live there were
not interested in impressing their
neighbors. They were basic structures -
just meant for for sleeping and eating
and not much else. Towards the end of the
eighteenth century, the Cape Cod
harbors were bustling.
As the community came upon the whaling era,
captains who went out to sea became
very wealthy, and the architecture
changed then as as they built homes that
were testaments to their prosperity.
You see Georgians, Greek Revivals, and even a
wonderful example of a French Second
Empire style home. These are much larger
houses - more sophisticated and elaborate
with wonderful detail 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 from
Boston, New York, and and wealthy people
started to flock to the area as a summer
destination. They built homes in the
style of English Country Manners and
Queen Annes that were really quite
lavish summer palaces. They were designed
for entertaining and hosting overnight
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
the intricate carving fireplace mantels,
fireplace surrounds. You also see imported
tiles and wide open staircases.
After World War II, important European
architects like Marcel Breuer and Walter
Gropius settled in Boston. They and
a bunch of their accolades came to the
Cape in the summer and used this sort of
as a laboratory for experimentation. They
built very humble modest structures
with wide expanses of glass and decks that
went all around the houses so they could
could, essentially, live in nature. It was
the time of experimenting with new
materials. Certainly lots of different
types of woods, 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.
