One of the best things about Cape Cod is how it clings to the best of old-fashioned ways. It’s an early to bed, early to rise kind of place. The pace is slow, the light is intense and the houses are postcard pretty. In fact, the “cape cod” house model is still replicated all over the country.
Pilgrim Rd., a street with "breathing room" to the beach
Unfortunately, in my vacation town of Harwich, these charming cottages are getting torn down one by one, in favor of what one can only be described as the over-sized, lot-filling homes that pack every inch of every lot at the Jersey Shore.
It is such a shame. I’m sure the owners of these homes are spending an absolute fortune on their architects and builders, and to their credit, they use quality building materials that many McMansions sometimes skimp on in order to afford the vast square footage, but everything about these structures is wrong for the Cape.
The beginning of the end of charming Sea Street
At the end of Sea Street for example, someone bought the petite half cape that was right on the beach, tore it down, and put up a thing in its place. It’s too tall, too big, and too ornate. In short, it belongs on the Jersey Shore where all the houses look like that. That’s what’s authentic about the Shore, but not here.
What’s worse, last year, someone bought the house right next door and put up something even worse; an over-sized square box filling the entire lot and all the airspace, right up to the 28-foot height limit the town imposes.
This home filling the entire lot on Wah Wah Taysee Rd. is a shame
With these two behemoths walling off the oceanfront, all the right-sized and appropriate homes behind them have lost something about their proximity to the water. Sure, the distance is the same as before, but aesthetically, the neighbors have been bullied. In response, some of them are selling out to owners who continue the race to “poor taste supremacy”.
Classic Cape Cod beach houses
The other day I walked Braddock Street near Bank Street Beach in Harwich Port and was saddened to see yet another monster house going up on what for decades had been a modest beach house with scraggly pitch pines and a sandy driveway. There’s little that’s scraggly at the beach anymore as the McMansions get irrigated and planted down to the last blade of perfect green grass.
As I did a double-take, one of the laborers responded by reading my mind. ”Big, isn’t it?” he offered.
I told him I could scarely remember what was there a year ago –that’s how jarring it is. He replied “it’s a lot bigger than I’d want, but…” and his voice trailed off. Even the people benefiting from building these things seem to know it’s killing something special about Cape Cod at the same time.
I don’t understand why Harwich allows this seemingly unchecked steroidal home building. Owners are blasting through the original footprint of the house to build within a few feet of their neighbor’s bedroom window. The 28 foot height requirement is far too tall for any home that’s not in the woods someplace. But south of Main Street, where the best of Cape Cod housing exists, 28 feet is way too tall and it dwarfs everything around it.
Most of the capes that give the region its identity are just a story and a half, perhaps 20 feet at the most at the crown. And they sit on a lot with breathing space all around. There is room for the sandy driveway or the one made of white sea shells. There are hydrangeas and rambling roses, and there is a shower on the back of the house. Occasionally there’s a small wooden deck or a patio. It’s part of what keeps vacationers coming back. You can’t find this old-fashioned charm just about anywhere anymore.
An expanded "old school" oceanfront home
At the expense of sounding like someone who has become too stuck to handle progress, I will say that when done correctly and to scale, at least today’s architecture on Cape Cod and in my full-time home of Syracuse, NY is getting much, much better than what it was in the 1970s and 80′s. Those two decades represent the worst of home design that I can think of. At least we’ve gotten beyond that.
Another home right-sized for it's location
Now all we have to do is tone it all down a notch, or as in the case of the seaside neighborhoods of the Cape, a whole bunch of notches.
Loading ...
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Great article Maureen. wow, I hate to see that happen. The street we are on in Eastham is perfect, I’d hate to see BIG take over.
My husband and I started noticing over a decade ago the old cars and trucks of Cape locals were disapearing, and luxury cars were everywhere. Now the McMansions. How sad that the beautiful Cape homes are being torn down, and these mammoth beauty-blockers are going up.
Great blog!
“Post Card Pretty”. I can so identify with your view. I have always loved the Cape and for all the reasons you identified. I sold my house in Liverpool Village last year. I have a wonderful picture of it in snow. A perfect Cape. Hot in summer, cold in winter but so charming and beautiful. Real Estate said I had the best curb appeal ever but due to a very hot summer, it took awhile. I’m in Clearwater Beach north and they are just starting to build 3 story houses. This isn’t the Cape, but probably as close as I can get to easy living. Home next week. Miss those grandkids and wish I was there to taxi this week off of school.
Maureen, please! To use “Cape Cod” and “Jersey Shore” in the same breath is just too repulsive. Have you ever seen the real Jersey Shore…..uck! Disgusting!
Sadly, I’ve witnesssed the same thing happening over in Dennisport over the past few years, albeit it on a smaller scale, for now.
Where are the brains of the municial officials who allow this to happen? Are they that enamored with more tax revenue? I would think the Cape would have severe zoning restrictions. To allow buildings that tall on the ocean is bordering on criminal. And I thought those officials would be one tough bunch. The Cape is simply too special for this kind of activity to continue. No outcry down there???
I have familiarity with Naperville, IL, just outside Chicago. It is a large city, with a downtown area that consists of upscale dining and shopping, with a college thrown for good measure. It is a bedroom city, with mature, established neighborhoods and middle aged developments, and some newer developments.
The favorite pastime of new (and some current) residents is to buy a house in the older sections, tear it down, and build a monstrous home in its place. It is not uncommon to see three story houses erected. They all fill up the lot completely, creating a postage stamp effect. And the architecture is totally different from any surrounding housing. They are monsters that stick out like sore thumbs and look totally out of place in this setting. Progress…..go figure.
Don
Good Mornin Maureen, I feel the same way about farm property here in central New York. The land that is sold is either torn down or falls down over years of New York weahter and the fields just grow up . It is so sad to drive thru farm country here as I do regularly and having been raised on a small farm in western Ma. that is now fully grown up and is not even recornized as former hard worked family supporting farm. Your feeling about the Cape and mine about farmlands is the same,but, that is the sad part of growing older and seeing times change. I would love to buy them all and keep them active like they used to be. Then again ,if I had that much money I probably would not care!
This is so true. And so sad. Here too many of the lovely 1900/1920 c houses across the street from Rice University are replaced by stone and cedar Texania “ranch things” that
destroy the mood…Cape builders should travel south and take a look…may spark a quick fix!
My question is: who would want to clean and maintain these bloated structures (or even PAY someone to clean and maintain them)?
Will the need for status– i.e.: trumping the proverbial Joneses– ever take a backseat to practicality in this country again?