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The Outdoor Entertaining Area: A Pictorial History

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Since the beginning of time, we humans have always enjoyed alfresco get-togethers, being with friends, and open-air cooking. The outdoor entertaining area, however, has taken thousands of years to perfect. Here we take a tongue-in-cheek look at how outdoor entertaining might have evolved from simple flame to today’s appliance-laden outdoor kitchen.

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Primitive Times: The Dawn of Outdoor Entertaining

Many early humans lived in caves. Then one day a family decided to build their cooking fire outside, and the outdoor kitchen was born. They invited some cave neighbors, grilled mastodon steaks, and had a great time (until a fight broke out over the last piece of meat).


Credit: U.S. Marine Corps/Lance Cpl. Nathan McCord

Image: U.S. Marine Corps/Lance Cpl. Nathan McCord
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  • Many early humans lived in caves. Then one day a family decided to build their cooking fire outside, and the outdoor kitchen was born. They invited some cave neighbors, grilled mastodon steaks, and had a great time (until a fight broke out over the last piece of meat).


    Credit: U.S. Marine Corps/Lance Cpl. Nathan McCord

  • Those great thinkers — the ancient Greeks — were always noodling cool ways to enjoy the outdoors. They combined a flat, paved walking surface with some comfy benches, a shade tree or two, and came up with an early version of the patio — a wonderful place to sit around and think great thoughts.


    Credit: KoS/Wikimedia Commons

  • While the era’s poor ate bread and turnips, the well-to-do of the Middle Ages enjoyed outdoor banquets and dined on delicacies such as swans, peacocks, and cranes, washed down with a hearty mead. Too bad kegerators and other outdoor specialty appliances hadn’t been invented yet — sure would have helped make the suds less tepid.


    Credit: Peter Isotalo/Wikimedia Commons

  • Traveling the Oregon Trail in the 1870s, it was tough to avoid noisy neighbors with their fiddles and sing-along barbecue parties. If only they knew how to soundproof the walls of their conestogas.


    Credit: Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-133214

  • Aristocrats of the 1700s enjoyed expansive lawns as part of their estates, and urbanites of the late 1800s borrowed the idea for their own smaller properties. When they weren’t mowing their lawns, folks enjoyed outdoor games, including croquet, horseshoes, and lawn bowling.

    Credit: Robert Bonnin/Flickr

  • Block parties became popular in the early part of the 20th century. By closing off streets to vehicles, neighbors created open communal space where they could share games, music, and food. Early block parties didn’t seek permission from city officials, but these days you’ll have to ask your city for permits to hold a block party or community 4th of July parade.

    Credit: Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

  • While heat and drought baked the central U.S. in the 1930s, folks sought relief by socializing on their covered front porches. Too bad they didn’t break out a hammer and get to work on some DIY projects, such as fixing those steps, or adding a few inexpensive porch pick-me-ups.


    Credit: Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ppmsca-01653

  • The post-war suburban boom ushered in the Golden Era of Outdoor Entertaining, thanks to backyard spaces that were open and easily accessible. Swing sets and wading pools occupied the youngsters while parents shared gossip and potato salad.


    Credit: Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution

  • The kettle-style charcoal grill, first invented by George Weber in the 1950s, made outdoor cooking the symbol of suburban contentment. Perhaps it stirred up some Cro-Magnon fire-building instincts, but outdoor grilling was popular with men, and women certainly didn’t mind.


    Credit: Department of Commerce collection/State Library and Archives of Florida

  • The first swimming pools appeared about 5,000 years ago, but it was West Coast home owners who popularized the backyard pool as an integral part of everyday outdoor life in the 1960s. Today, the average cost of a 600-sq.-ft. inground pool is about $30,000.


    Credit: Jim French

  • Sophisticated outdoor furniture, cabinets, and countertops brought indoor niceties to outdoor kitchens and entertaining areas. Stainless steel appliances that stand up to any weather include refrigerators and specialty appliances, such as pizza ovens.

    Credit: Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet

  • The outdoor entertaining area of the future will undoubtedly include a rotating garden sphere that turns to block prevailing winds and to provide the most advantageous views of your landscaping and gardens. Which means outdoor entertaining soon will become totally enclosed — sort of like a cave.


    Credit: www.chaplins.co.uk | sales@chaplins.co.uk | 020 8421 1779

  • If you like these, you may want to take a spin through HouseLogic’s library of slideshows.

     

  • Primitive Times: The Dawn of Outdoor Entertaining
  • Ancient Classical Times: The Patio
  • Middle Ages: Party Hearty
  • The Westward Expansion: Noisy Neighbors
  • The Industrial Revolution: The Backyard Lawn
  • Post WWI: The Block Party
  • Dust Bowl Days: Relief on the Front Porch
  • The Fabulous 50s: Backyard Bliss
  • The 1960s: Let’s Get Grilling!
  • The Swimming Pool Era: California Dreamin’
  • The 1990s: Indoor/Outdoor Living
  • The Future: Back to the Cave
  • Like our slideshows?
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  • ancient-classical-times-the-patio
  • middle-ages-party-hearty
  • the-westward-expansion-noisy-neighbors
  • the-industrial-revolution-the-backyard-lawn
  • post-wwi-the-block-party
  • dust-bowl-days-relief-on-the-front-porch
  • the-fabulous-50s-backyard-bliss
  • the-1960s-lets-get-grilling
  • the-swimming-pool-era-california-dreamin
  • the-1990s-indooroutdoor-living
  • the-future-back-to-the-cave
  • more-slideshows
  • Image: U.S. Marine Corps/Lance Cpl. Nathan McCord
  • Image: KoS/Wikimedia Commons
  • Image: Peter Isotalo/Wikimedia Commons
  • Image: Library of Congress, LC-USZ62-133214
  • Image: Robert Bonnin/Flickr
  • Image: Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
  • Image: Library of Congress, LC-DIG-ppmsca-01653
  • Image: Scurlock Studio Records, Archives Center, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution
  • Image: Department of Commerce collection/State Library and Archives of Florida
  • Image: Jim French
  • Image: Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet
  • Image: www.chaplins.co.uk | sales@chaplins.co.uk | 020 8421 1779
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