Introduction

The Cape Cod house, also called the Cape-style house, is the simplest of all New England Colonial houses. Generally, a "Cape" is a rectangular frame house (usually shingled or clapboarded) with a straight unadorned ridge roof, and a massive chimney centrally located in line with the front entrance. The door opens onto a tiny entrance hall. The interior began as two rooms, one room deep, but later Capes often were expanded at sides and back. The type developed from the last quarter of the 17th century to about 1830, and later enjoyed a resurgence in post-World War II America. The wide appeal of the Cape Cod cottage makes it one of the best known forms of traditional American architecture. A related online reference aid, Timber-frame Houses in the Historic American Buildings Survey, includes a few Cape Cod houses where the documentation in its entirety provides a good picture of the building and shows some aspect of framing. Select the small image to view a larger version. Select the Call Number of the structure to retrieve, via the Prints and Photographs Online Catalog (PPOC), a bibliographic record for the entire group of documentation. The bibliographic record will provide fuller information about the house in question (such as owners' names) and may include other photographs and/or other types of documentation. Images can be downloaded from this site. The Library of Congress cannot give or deny permission to publish or otherwise distribute material in its collections, but a rights statement for the Historic American Buildings Survey/Historic American Engineering Record is available. Photographic and other types of copies can also be ordered from the Library of Congress Photoduplication Service by selecting the "How to Order a Copy of This Item" link in the bibliographic record and following the instructions given there.

Connecticut

Maine

Massachusetts

Rhode Island