Garages in Eau Claire, WI 1830s-2010

Hillary Johnson & Alicia HomanGeography 367

Settlement Geography of Eau Claire

Hypothesis

Garage types and sizes reflect the age of the houses in Eau Claire.

19th century houses are characterized by the absence of garages. We expected to find that garages began to appear in the 1920s as the popularity of cars developed. Garages would evolve from single detached to half-attached to full- attached, then grew in size from single to double to triple. (Bruno, 2009)

Garage Types and Sizes In Eau Claire

1. Detached2. Corner-Attached3. Half-Attached4. Full-Attached5. Breezeway

Size of garages: single, double, or triple-car

Research Methods: FieldworkRecorded garage type by

observation

- Random city blocks in Randall Park, Putnam Heights, and Suburbs

Sample size: 265 garages

*Small sample size, may not be representative of Eau Claire

Research Methods: Assessment RecordsRecorded year of house

based on city assessment records

Problems with data:*Assessment Records show

year of house, not year of garage. May result in some inconsistency

*Possible gaps in data: no samples from 1970s-1980s. Can assume patterns similar to 1960s data

Garage Types by Frequency and Age in Eau Claire

Garage Type # % Ave. Year

None 68 25.5 1883

Double Detached 8 3.0 1924

Single Half Attached 10 3.7 1932

Single Detached 24 9.0 1940

Single Breezeway 4 1.5 1947

Single Corner Attached 1 0.4 1949

Single Full Attached 37 13.9 1951

Double Corner Attached 1 0.4 1951

Double Breezeway 2 0.7 1962

Double Half Attached 2 0.7 1965

Double Full Attached 76 28.5 1973

Triple Full Attached 34 12.7 1991

Total/Average 267 100.0

Garage Type Frequency in Eau Claire

Garage Type by Age in Eau Claire

Garage Type by Age in Eau Claire• No garage

- Average year: 1883– Randall Park

• Double Detached– Average year: 1924– Later Putnam Heights & Randall Park

• Single Half Attached– Average year: 1932– Earlier Putnam Heights

• Single Detached– Average year: 1940– Putnam Heights

Garage Type by Age in Eau Claire• Single Breezeway

– Average Year: 1947– Earlier Putnam Heights

• Single Corner Attached– Average Year: 1949– Earlier Putnam Heights

• Double Corner Attached– Average Year: 1951– Later Putnam Heights

• Single Full Attached– Average Year: 1951– Later Putnam Heights

Garage Types by Age in Eau Claire• Double Breezeway

– Average year: 1962– Later Putnam Heights

• Double Half Attached– Average year: 1965– Later Putnam Heights

• Double Full Attached– Average year: 1973– Later Putnam Heights & Suburbs

• Triple Full Attached– Average year: 1991– Suburbs

Trends in Eau Claire• Garages first appeared detached from houses in the 1920s, and

became more embedded in houses with time• Garage sizes increased over time, from single to double to triple

Patterns in Eau Claire• Randall Park: no garages and double detached• Early Putnam Heights: single detached, corner, breezeway, and half-

attached garages• Later Putnam Heights: single full-attached, double detached, corner,

breezeway, half, and full-attached• Suburbs: double full-attached and triple full-attached (Chicago

Tribune, 1992)

1932 1940 1947

1951 1973 1991

Evolution of Garage Types in Eau Claire

Average year of garage type based on fieldwork in Eau Claire, WI, June, 2010

Works Cited"Eau Claire, WI.” Google Maps. http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&tab=wl

(Accessed 8 June 2010).“History of types of garage doors.” Heidelberger, Mark. 2010.

http://www.ehow.com/list_5583769_history-types-garage-doors.html (Accessed 10 June 2010).

“In suburbia, some garages are outgrowing homes.” Chicago Tribune. Published in The Baltimore Sun, 11 August 1992. http://articles.baltimoresun.com/1992-08-11/features/1992224165_1_garage-two-car-motor-room (Accessed 10 June 2010).

"Property Search." Online Property Assessment Database. City of Eau Claire, http://www.bis-net.net/cityofeauclaire/search.cfm (Accessed 9 June 2010).

“The history of garage design.” Bruno, Gwen. 13 November 2009. http://www.ehow.com/facts_5640013_history-garage-design.html (Accessed 10 June 2010).