• e-mail

With summer now in full swing, the scent of mesquite smoke can be found wafting from backyards into the air in neighborhoods across the country. There’s nothing more quintessentially American than families spending summer holidays like the Fourth of July relaxing and barbequeing in their backyards.

For many, taking refuge ‘out back’ to relax, garden, or tend a lawn goes hand-in-hand with summer for most.

But the phenomenon of suburban outdoor living space is more recent than one might think. The concept of having backyards didn’t truly take hold across the country until post-World War II when Americans began focusing on leisure and relaxation during the 1950s.

Now, a new exhibition from the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service titled ‘Patios, Pools and the Invention of the American Backyard’ is shedding new light on how some Americans came to claim the backyard as their haven from life and a private domain.

Kate Fox, one of the curators of the new exhibit, explained to DailyMail.com that the ‘collection is primarily photographs but also has landscape drawings’ showcasing the American garden.

With summer now in full swing, the scent of mesquite smoke can be found wafting from backyards into the air in neighborhoods across the country. There’s nothing more quintessentially American than families spending summer holidays like the 4th of July relaxing and barbequing in their backyards. A new exhibit from the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service is shedding new light on how Americans came to claim the backyard as their haven from life. Pictured above is a home in Long Beach, California in the 1950s part of the exhibit

For many, taking refuge ‘out back’ to relax, garden, or tend a lawn goes hand-in-hand with summer for most. But the phenomenon of suburban outdoor living space is more recent than one might think. Pictured above is a home in Long Beach, California in the 1950s part of the exhibit

The concept of having backyards didn’t truly take hold across the country until post-World War II, when Americans began focusing on leisure and relaxation during the 1950s. Americans began flocking to newly built suburban neighborhoods from cities that were becoming too congested, and those suburban developments included backyard spaces that offered privacy to homeowners. Pictured above is a garden in the backyard of a home in New Canaan, Connecticut in 1967 

‘We began noticing that we had all of these great mid-century modern backyard images that hadn’t really seen the light of day,’ she said. 'I started doing research and just realizing that there were a lot of socio, cultural and economic influences behind the designs of these backyards in the 1950s and 60s.

‘The exhibit focuses on this narrow period in time from the end of World War II to the end of the 1960s, when the backyard became something that was more widely available to everyone.’

Americans began flocking to newly built suburban neighborhoods from cities that were becoming too congested, and those suburban developments included backyard spaces that offered privacy to homeowners.

‘People also had more free time with the 40-hour work week, along with more funds to kind of play around with their backyards,’ she said.

‘I think there’s this idea that the backyard became this touchstone in popular culture - where it was on the one hand aspirational to afford to live in the suburbs and create your kind of own personal country club in your back yard.

‘People also had more free time with the 40-hour work week along with more funds to kind of play around with their backyards,’ Kate Fox, one of the curators of the new exhibit, told DailyMail.com. Pictured above is a row of houses in Portland, Oregon in 1911. Fox noted that front porches were once a desired feature on homes until backyards took their place

She said: ‘I think there’s this idea that the backyard became this touchstone in popular culture - where it was on the one hand aspirational to afford to live in the suburbs and create your kind of own personal country club in your back yard.' Pictured above is a picnic in August 1957 

She said: 'And then other hand it felt attainable –popular mechanics and all of these magazines would run articles like DIY patios, DIY out door kitchen. ‘It was really interesting because it’s almost like seeing the California lifestyle moving east where people are really obsessed with this idea of the outdoor living room as an extension of the home.’ Pictured above is a baby on a shuffleboard game in New Canaan, Connecticut in 1957

Fox noted that the typical ‘American dream’ that many sought to attain during the 50s and 60s was not open for everyone due to racial segregation. ‘It’s interesting at this time because a lot of these neighborhoods had restrictive racial covenants and that were a lot of anxieties that people had about desegregation of public life,’ Fox explained. Pictured above is Carol Holloway aged 14 in her backyard in Los Angeles in 1961 

She also shared: ‘Restrictions on chlorine and concrete only allowed rich people like Hollywood stars to have private pools in their backyards because they could afford it. After the war, pools were much more affordable for average Americans due to the surplus and availability of those materials.' Pictured above is the Benton House in Phoenix, Arizona in the 1940s or 50s

The concept of having a new backyard was a status symbol of American life for many – a perfectly manicured lawn and fresh patio furnishings demonstrated that people had both the free time and funds to make their space into their own oasis, Fox said. Pictured above is the Farnham family in their Mendham, New Jersey garden in the 1960s 

Of the exhibit, Fox said: ‘We began noticing that we had all of these great mid-century modern backyard images that hadn’t really seen the light of day. I started doing research and just realizing that there were a lot of socio, cultural and economic influences behind the designs of these backyards in the 1950s and 60s.' Pictured above are butterfly chairs and bonsai plants on a patio in Kansas City, Missouri in 1968

‘And then, on the other hand, it felt attainable – popular mechanics and all of these magazines would run articles like DIY patios, DIY out door kitchen.

‘It was really interesting because it’s almost like seeing the California lifestyle moving East, where people are really obsessed with this idea of the outdoor living room as an extension of the home.’

Fox noted that the typical ‘American dream’ that many sought to attain during the 1950s and 60s was not open to everyone due to racial segregation.

‘It’s interesting at this time, because a lot of these neighborhoods had restrictive racial covenants and [there] were a lot of anxieties that people had about desegregation of public life,’ Fox explained.

‘So in some ways, when people are turning to their own backyard, they made decisions on who they wanted to choose to invite to their house – versus a big city swimming pool that was often times for whites only.’

During this time period, magazines like Popular Mechanics promoted the concept of DIY home improvement and eating outdoors in backyard spaces. Pictured above left is an issue of the magazine in October 1955 and right is an advertisement from the 1950s

Fox also shared that wartime aluminium and concrete were repurposed to create swimming pools, grills, patio furniture and other tools for backyards. Many companies pivoted their production to cater to consumers who sought out to buy those new products. Pictured above is an advertisement from Reynolds Aluminum from the 1950s or 60s

Fox also shared that wartime aluminium and concrete were repurposed to create swimming pools, grills, patio furniture and other tools for backyards. Many companies pivoted their production to cater to consumers who sought to buy those new products.

‘Also, restrictions on chlorine and concrete only allowed rich people like Hollywood stars to have private pools in their backyards because they could afford it,’ Fox said. ‘After the war, pools were much more affordable for average Americans due to the surplus and availability of those materials.'

Huge company brands like Pepsi began to create soft drinks to capitalize upon the growing popularity of backyards and outdoor living spaces. During the 1960s Pepsi began selling Patio Cola, which was rebranded during the 1970s as Diet Pepsi, Fox noted.

The focus of community interaction changed once stoops and front porches were no longer included in the designs of homes for newly built community developments. This change caused socializing that usually took place in the front of homes to transition into backyard spaces. The addition of fences around homes made backyard spaces even more private.

The concept of having a new backyard was a status symbol of American life for many – a perfectly manicured lawn and fresh patio furnishings demonstrated that people had both the free time and funds to make their space into their own oasis, Fox said. Pictured above is a photo of the Hurd Garden in Middletown, New Jersey in the 1960s

The photos in the exhibit show backyards across the country – many with families relaxing while eating barbecue. Other images show eloquently designed gardens. Pictured above is the Ford House in New Canaan, Connecticut in 1967

Fox added that the idea of backyard spaces made its way into popular culture with magazine and television shows idealizing suburban status.

‘There’s a great episode of “I Love Lucy” [that] showed Lucy and Ethel trying to build a backyard barbecue grill in 1957,’ she said. ‘And hilarity ensues because all kinds of things go wrong. So it was really part of the popular culture at the time.’

The concept of having a new backyard was a status symbol of American life for many – a perfectly manicured lawn and fresh patio furnishings demonstrated that people had both the free time and funds to make their space into their own oasis, Fox said.

The photos in the exhibit show backyards across the country – many with families relaxing while eating barbecue. Other images show eloquently designed gardens.

‘I think that a lot of people can see their own experiences in these backyards that are part of the exhibit,’ Fox shared.

The traveling display is currently on view at the Temple Railroad & Heritage Museum in Temple, Texas, and from there it will head to Hartford, Connecticut, in December.

The traveling display is currently on view at the Temple Railroad & Heritage Museum in Temple, Texas, and from there it will head to Hartford, Connecticut, in December. Pictured above is the House of the Four Winds in Lake Forest, Illinois in the 1920s or 30s