Locating the Cultural Idea of the Cape Cod House

In this podcast, Sydney Salazar traces the long history of the Cape Cod house as a ready-made architectural precedent for 'American' life. From its trans-Atlantic migrations into the New World to its packaging as a Levittown starter home, the Cape Cod has persistently been modeled as an idealized version of Anglo-American heritage. As a precedent for American life, the Cape Cod has its limits. These are perhaps most evident in the racialized marketing that exposes its use as a buoy of white hegemonic culture in the United States. Perhaps the best lesson this architectural typology can teach us is that all precedents come with historical baggage that must be managed in the present moment.