Evolution of Garages in Eau Claire WI Jessica

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 1830 -2010

Research Methods: Assessor's Office • "Eau Claire, WI - Online Property Assessment Database Search. " Invisible, Inc. 2010. Web. 09 June 2010. <http: //bisnet. net/cityofeauclaire/search. cf m>. • 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 Half-attached Detached Corner-attached Breezeway 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 1900 s – 1930 s • 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 1940 s – Present • First came one car attached garages • In the late 1950 s 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, 1986. Print. • "Eau Claire, WI - Online Property Assessment Database - Search. " Invisible, Inc. 2010. Web. 09 June 2010. <http: //bis-net. net/cityofeauclaire/search. cfm>. • "Garage - Definition of Garage by the Free Online Dictionary, Thesaurus and Encyclopedia. " Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary. 2010. Web. 09 June 2010. <http: //www. thefreedictionary. com/garage>. • "Garage Door Opener. " Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. 2008. Web. 09 June 2010. <http: //en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Garage_door_opener>. • Guarantee!, Our Service. "Garage - Google Search. " Google. 2010. Web. 09 June 2010. <http: //www. google. com/images? um=1&hl=en&tbs=isch: 1&sa=1&q=garage&aq=f&aqi =g 10&aql=&oq=&gs_rfai=>. • Hassinger, Jessica L. Garages/Houses/Alleyway. 2010. 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. 2009. Web. 09 June 2010. <http: //www. professionaldoordealer. com/articles/springs_tracks/673_641 feat 3. html>