Carport

A carport is a covered structure used to offer limited protection to vehicles, primarily cars, from rain and snow.

Renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright coined the term when he used a carport in the first of his "Usonian" home designs: the house of Herbert Jacobs, built in 1936 in Madison, Wisconsin.

[4] By 1913, carports were also being employed by other Prairie School architects such as the Minneapolis firm of Purcell, Feick & Elmslie in their design for a residence at Lockwood Lake, Wisconsin.

Cars prior to this time were not completely water tight; the era of robotic-assembly, advanced materials, and perfect closure lines was still 50 years in the future.

Many solar canopies are built over parking lots, where in addition to generating renewable power, they also protect the cars from sun, rain and snow.