Home

[Mersha]

Does anyone have any idea what the things are on the far right of the picture?   The home is listed online as "for sale."

On the top, it seems to be an arch with wood underneath and the bottom, I am clueless.

What are they?

[Snowpuppy]

My guess is the recessed arch would have been to hold a telephone in that day.

The bench below seems to have been designed to fold up into the wall when not in use. You'd sit on the bench while gabbing on the phone.

All the rage in that day but the home appears older than that era so likely an afterthought. Telephones were once installed in common areas. The home may have been used as a boarding house at one time.

[Malcontent]

The top part held the phone and the bottom held the phone book; usually there was also a chair next to it.  

[BlueFinch]

@Snowpuppy is right. I rented an old home years ago that had the same thing. A place for a phone and pull down seat. I used it, too.

[meallen616]

I thought maybe for a phone also!

[shoppinpat]

IN the age of dial telephones this was a pullout telephone chair.  Homes of the era had only one phone located in a central location.

[On It]

I remember the day the top piece (rectangular shaped) was installed in the hallway that led to our bedrooms. A telephone installer came soon after and we had a phone sitting on the top shelf. I feel cheated! We did not have the pull down seat. My mother would have loved that feature.

[Katrinka23]

We had such a shelf in our home which was built in 1941.  Ours was in the dining room and the top shelf held the phone while the bottom shelf held the phone book.  We didn't have a stool so you either used a dining room chair or with the long cord you could carry the phone and sit on the stairs.  

[We rescue cats]

A very fun piece of historical architecture!

[Mersha]

---

@Snowpuppy wrote:

My guess is the recessed arch would have been to hold a telephone in that day.

The bench below seems to have been designed to fold up into the wall when not in use. You'd sit on the bench while gabbing on the phone.

All the rage in that day but the home appears older than that era so likely an afterthought. Telephones were once installed in common areas. The home may have been used as a boarding house at one time.

---

@Snowpuppy   Thank you! 

I never saw one of these before.  I would imagine phone conversations would not last too long as the chair looks very uncomfortable.

It is interesting the owners left this in the house to maintain the integrity of the home.

Thanks to everyone!