The front porch is experiencing a cultural renaissance, with 23 percent more being built on new homes now than two decades ago.
The origins of the porch in the U.S. goes back hundreds of years, and was inspired by a variety of international design features. James Garfield, Benjamin Harrison, and William McKinley were all elected president after successful front-porch campaigns, popular in the 1800s. In the 20th century, porches were needed less with the advent of air conditioning, and wanted less with the rise of TV, per CityLab.
After being considered outdated and rural, the porch has recently re-emerged as urbanized and in demand. As a word alone, "porch" is trending, especially in big, techie cities: The Front Porch is the name of an Austin web design and development conference. A restaurant in San Francisco’s Mission District. A Denver lounge bragging about its “cheap drinks, friendly bartenders, great networking, and lots of fun people.”
