The Housing Historian – The Conversation Pit.
What was America Thinking?
It was one of those new home features that came out of nowhere. You can almost hear the first architect’s pitch; “Well, it’s a hole in the middle of the room that has a fireplace and built-in (and usually uncomfortable) seating.” I can see the builders’ (surprised) faces. Personally, I have a lot of respect for the first builder who approved a floor plan that featured a conversation pit. But those were different times, and like fashion, automobiles and everything else, housing design mirrors the mind-set and preferences of the American public. The first conversation pit that I ever saw was in 1969 in Levitt and Sons’ Monterey model at Cambridge Park in Marlton, New Jersey. It turns out that the conversation pit was a real conversation piece and it attracted throngs of homebuyers to see this new trend in housing. On the practical side, it was heralded as a place for the family to get together and enjoy each others company. It also provided a great place for entertaining friends and neighbors, while proving that you were stylish and maybe even mod. Most importantly, it communicated that you had the very latest in modern home design. Today, a conversation pit dates a home and I suspect that many have been filled in over the years to provide a larger, more practical one-level living area. The concept of family togetherness is still quite valid today, but somehow it seems that the conversation pit was more appropriate for a generation who wore polyester fabrics, had larger than life hairstyles and a 21’ foot coupe in the driveway that got a whopping eight miles to the gallon.
