Park City Museum has a new exhibit visiting from the Smithsonian Institute.
Park City Museum Executive Director Sandra Morrison tells KPCW the exhibit is titled: Patios, Pools, and the Invention of the American Backyard.
“Which you would never think had to be invented, but it really happened post World War II. With track housing and people moving to the suburbs and also with the five-day eight-hour work week people had weekends available. They started designing back yards. People had larger properties, could install pools and how they brought the living space to the outdoors. The use of the house moved from everyone sitting on the front porch watching their neighborhood go by to being more secluded in the backyard.”
The exhibit comes to Park City from the Smithsonian Institute. Morrison describes some of the items in the exhibit.
“Vintage photographs obviously. A lot of post-World War II so, 40s 50s 60s. Then historic drawings and then period advertisements as well. So, buy a pool, or here's the latest barbecue, pave your backyard because it's more useful.”
The exhibit also looks at the impact of the American Backyard on the environment.
“There's even a section talking about the uses of fertilizers and chemicals. Rachel Carson and her book “Silent Spring” is featured in there talking about the use of DDT and so it gets into a lot of different aspects that came out of this development of a private outdoor living space.”
The exhibit is up now through November.
