Garages

It is crazy to think how much the garage has evolved. Looking at images from the 1920's the garages looked more like what we would consider a shed today. They looked like a little shack with two doors in the front, nothing like the two car garages we see today with electric garage door openers. 

I mean even when the garage was becoming more widely used we still saw many post war houses built with carports instead of garages. Drive around Kenmore/Tonawanda and you will see plenty of these. Here is a house in Kenmore built in 1957 with the added carport.

I think garages have changed drastically, as stated by Jackson. Garages are still used to store cars, but also they are used for tool storage, motorcycle storage, or for various other things. My parents have a two car garage and never park in it. They use it mostly for storage year round. My grandparents however did park their cars in their two car garage in the winter, however in the summer the screen doors came up and it was used as a place to relax. My grandpa always had two recliners and a tv in the garage in the summer, and used the other side to park one of his cars. When there was a family gathering though, the car would move into the driveway and tables and chairs would be placed on the other side so we can all eat and laugh together. The picture below is not of my Grandparents house, but it is a good example of what I just explained. It essentially makes the garage into another liveable room for the house. 

The garage, at its core may be meant for car storage, but it is essentially as Jackson states. When he talks about internal changes, he is talking about the changes that the occupants themselves have inspired, not those of the housing industry. It is important to remember that the houses were built by homebuilders with an idea in mind of how it should be used, but it is the occupants of the house who actully determine how it is used, and this includes the garage.