People relish in stories about their homes, but ones laced with a bit of mystery and intrigue are especially tantalizing. Once, when working on a remodeling project in at 1920's neo-classical home, I noticed a somewhat (but not completely) hidden "cubbie" at the stair landing. It was smaller than a breadbox, had a hinged door and raw wood interior. I couldn't conjure up my own explanation for it, so I asked my client if she knew what it's purpose was. She shrugged her shoulders, wishing that she did. But, she did offer her own theory. It was the perfect size to hide a bottle or two of spirits. And, it was out of view from the public spaces in the house. To her, it was quite plausibly a prohibition era relic.
I found her reasoning as good as any. Later, during the bidding phase of the project, I was leading a group of subcontractors through the house and they also stumbled across the hidden door. Upon sharing the prohibition theory with then, they all shook their heads in an "of course" sort of way. Although unsubstantiated, it was a story that was easy, and frankly, fun to believe.
Prohibition is a common theme among the owners of 1920s era homes. I worked on another project from that era that had a tunnel carved into the rock that led from it’s basement to the lake. It functioned nicely as a boat house and dry dock of sorts should any boat maintenance need to occur in the off season. But within the tunnel, there was a curious cavern carved into one side. And a bit of lore was handed down with the house suggesting that the original owners would brew moonshine in the tunnel, and that the small cavern could easily be concealed should it be necessary.
Whether either of these stories are true, we do know that prohibition did not stop many from brewing and consuming alcohol. And thus, it is so tempting to believe them.
Link to photos and articles for the prohibition era in Wisconsin
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment