This column is intimately linked to the photograph it accompanies, so let’s look at it together first. There are nine people pictured, all fashionably dressed in front of their house at 1180 Prospect St., circa 1900. They look happy and prosperous, as if they have gathered to celebrate a holiday. But the real point of the picture is WHERE they have gathered: their front porch. The porch, an architectural icon of the American home for decades that has virtually disappeared in the present day, encapsulated the very essence of indoor-outdoor living celebrated now in decks, patios and outdoor entertaining areas designed around far greater residential structures than this small 1900 cottage. But then it seemed an important part of the house — important enough to this family to pose for their picture and show off their porch, replete with a trailing vine on one side, a wooden rocking chair, a Chinese lantern and a horseshoe by the step turned upside down for good luck. Notice the watering hose also by the step — a sign that the house was very up to date for 1900 in that it had running water. Many houses built in La Jolla about this time had front porches. They were considered important architectural elements of early California bungalows, inspired, perhaps, by the many front porches that had been part of typical American farmhouses built across the country through the 1800s. Writing in his 1867 book, “Rural Studies,” author Donald Mitchel expounded: “A country house without a porch is like a man without an eyebrow; it gives expression, and gives expression where you most want it … It is an interpreter of character; it humanizes bald walls and windows; it emphasizes architectural tone; it gives hint of hospitality; it is a hand stretched out (figuratively and lumberingly, often) from the world within to the world without.” The first house actually constructed as a permanent home in 1887 — the Heald House at Silverado and Exchange — had a lovely front porch with Chinoiserie balustrade and eave trim. It had an equally lovely ocean view looking out toward Goldfish Point and La Jolla Cove. Similar trim and balustrade decorated the front porch of the Villa Waldo built in 1894 on Girard Avenue and moved many years ago to Drury Lane, where it remains standing and still in use, although the porch and ornamental treillage no longer can be enjoyed. Remnants of two early La Jolla front porches remain on the Red Roost and Red Rest cottages, also built in the 1890s but in severe disrepair. Adjacent to Scripps Park and the cove, the front porches offered one of the best views in town and a likely spot to enjoy sea breezes and the passing parade of beachgoers. When the cottages were last fully engaged as residences in the 1960s and early ’70s, it was always amazing how many people could pack up on those porches! Another early La Jolla house with a prominent porch in its initial construction in 1904 was Wisteria Cottage, now home to the La Jolla Historical Society at 780 Prospect St. A front porch once spanned the entire front of the house when it was first built. But shortly after it was constructed, Wisteria became the property of Eliza Virginia Scripps. With the help of architect Irving Gill, the front porch was enclosed to add to the interior space when Scripps remodeled the building for use by the St. James Episcopal Church. One of the things about porches through history is that they seem to be a building element that comes and goes. Many old porches, in fact, become enclosed and are added to main living areas. As living styles changed, porches gradually became a design element of the past. People no longer had time to sit upon them like they did in our picture at 1180 Prospect St, circa 1900. Perhaps porches just disappeared because everyone became too busy “living.” — “Reflections” is a monthly column written for the La Jolla Village News by the La Jolla Historical Society’s historian Carol Olten. The Society, dedicated to the preservation of La Jolla heritage, is located at 780 Prospect St. and is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Mondays through Fridays.