Aarti Bhatia
HONOR 159J
*KITCHEN*
Women in Greenbelt and suburbs around America spent a significant portion
of their day in the kitchen. This meant that kitchen had to be a
comfortable environment to spend time in. As years went by kitchens were
designed to accommodate the women who worked in them. Suburban kitchens
evolved with the technology of the time. Kitchens were built to be
convenient to give the house wife a pleasant atmosphere in which to
work. After men began to realize what a hard job their housewives
had, suburban houses were built with larger kitchens putting "housework
and child raising on a more professional basis" (Clark, 73).
In Greenbelt the newly built homes tried to incorporate all the
new technologies of the time. When George Warner and his family saw their
new home in Greenbelt they were very excited. George's wife "Claire was
enthusiastic about the well planned, all electric kitchen. In addition to
the sink, which had a deep compartment for light laundry concealed beneath
the drain board, there were an electric stove with three burners, oven and
broiler, and an electric refrigerator. Built in enameled metal cabinets
provided ample space for storing dishes (Warner, 29). The electric stove
was one of the most exciting appliances for the women moving into
Greenbelt. Sharif
Masri's project on Women and Technology discusses in
detail the advantages that the women enjoyed about the new technology
(primarily the stove and the refrigerator) in
the kitchen. Many women
in Greenbelt were experiencing these new technologies for the first time.
The concept of the kitchen has evolved quite a bit over the past few
decades. When Greenbelt first began "kitchen" tables were not very
common. In fact, most of the kitchens were not designed to have enough
space to accommodate a table. The kitchen was where the women cooked and
prepared the meals for the rest of the family. The food was actually
eaten in the dining room. The husband actually rarely even went in to the
kitchen. Now, years later, there is both a dining table and a kitchen
table. Since the populuxe era kitchens have been getting larger. In
Joanna Lin's project on the kitchen in populuxe times, the history of
the kitchen can be seen. Now families usually eat at the kitchen table,
and
save the dining table for more special occasions. The kitchen has become a
room for the entire family, rather than just for the woman of the house.
Views of a Greenbelt Kitchen
KITCHEN CABINETS
the kitchen cabinets were built into
the walls of the
kitchen and were standard in all the homes in Greenbelt
KITCHEN SINK
the sinks were not only used for dish
washing, but often laundry as well
Kitchen Technologies
MIXER
when baking, mixers saved women a great deal of
time
TOASTER
the toaster was very convenient, especially on
busy mornings