It?s too darn hot Welcome back to Period Dramas, a weekly column that alternates between rounding up historic homes on the market and answering questions we?ve always had about older structures.
On these sweltering midsummer days, it?s natural to want nothing more than to sit in front of an air conditioner that?s running at full speed. But while today finding relief from the heat takes little more than the flip of a switch (or a smart switch, if you?re lucky), it wasn?t so easy at the turn of the 20th century?before the advent of modern air conditioning.
"The idea of cooling a house in hot climates is nothing new?ancient Egypt used courtyards to promote air flow through buildings," says Jonathan Hogg, associate at Ferguson & Shamamian Architects. "Providing air circulation is simply essential to summertime relief." One of the most effective forms of air circulation is a ?cross draft,? an interior breeze that forms when two openings in a building?windows, doors, and the like?align.
To create a very strong cross-draft, according to Hogg, the house would ideally be one room deep, so that windows and doors can be placed on either side of the structure to best promote airflow. Unsurprisingly, some of the most creative examples of this type of house exist in the south, where the heat is a much more acute problem than in the northeast.

Photo via Creative Commons.
An example of a shotgun house. The single-room width of the struc...