A carport is a structure used to offer limited protection to vehicles, primarily cars, from the elements. The structure can either be free standing or attached to a wall. Unlike most structures a carport will not have four walls, and is mostly commonly found with only two. Carports offer less protection than garages but allow for more ventilation than garages.

The term was first coined by renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright, when he invented the carport for the first of his "Usonian" homes; The house of Herbert Jacobs, built in Madison, Wisconsin, in 1936. ( http://w ww.usonia1.com )

In describing the carport, he said to Mr. Jacobs, "A car is not a horse, and it doesn't need a barn." He then added, "Cars are built well enough now so that they do not require elaborate shelter." Looking back at life in 1936, it is easy to imagine automobiles prior to this time were not completely water tight; the era of robotic-assembly, advanced materials, perfect closure lines, and rampant car theft were still 50 years in the future.

The carport was therefore, a cheap and effective device for the protection of a car. Mr. Jacobs added, "Our cheap secondhand car had stood out all winter at the curb, often in weather far below zero (fahrenheit). A carport was a downright luxury for it."