"With a pergola in the garden you can no more escape living out of door living than you can avoid swimming in the sea if you happily chance to be living on the edge of the ocean. A pergola focuses your garden life. It is like a fireplace in a living room; it is the spirit of the outdoor environment held in place to welcome you. It is essentially a place in which to rest, or to play or to do a quiet domestic tasks; it is the outdoor home for children, for old folks, a spot in which to dream waking dreams or to sleep happily, or, best of all, for romance." 

- Gustav Stickley, 1909.