How old does this touch-tone phone appear to be? is it cordless, or is it one of those desk phone that is identical to that last types of rotary dial? Is it one of those big-button kind that some people with low vision or poor motor skills have? does it have a caller ID screen or built in answering machine? In other words, does the style give you any clue as to have long it may have been there?
Thick layer of dust?
You’ve never told us whether this is a remodeled single-family house (or duplex) remodeled to be small apartments (or flats, whatever).
It could be that the basement access was indoors when it was single-family, but when it was remodeled, an outside access to the basement was built, so the landlord doesn’t have to enter the tenant’s property to get to the basement. I don’t know what your laws are like, but here, unless there’s an emergency, a landlord has to give a tenant 24 hours notice before entering, and if the tenant has pets, sometimes has to coordinate with the tenant to have her be there. An outside (or, inside, but outside any unit) basement access would be helpful.
So…do you have a ladder? There’s still a hatch to explore.
Odd that whoever-it-was sealed it up with a random bit of furniture inside. Did it look like the items were in use prior to being walled away (phone plugged into a wall jack, or anything like that)? Were they in a corner of the space, like someone had stored them in there to get them out of the way, and maybe forgotten about them?
Anyway, you get a table and some extra storage space. Not as exciting as a closet full of corpses, perhaps, but slightly more useful.
It’s one of those big, heavy, tan ones that are like the rotary phones. Early 80s, maybe?
Not as much as one would expect. But then again, sealed off from everything, there wouldn’t be a lot of dust, would there?
I’m in the basement portion of what was a single family house. There’s of course, the exterior door that doesn’t appear to be the result of a remodel (it’s a rock house, so a “new” hole would be noticeable.
It may have been there for people working on stuff in the basement to be able to call the office, or parts stores, if there was ever a time when lots of building and renovations were going on, and either it was before cell phones, or you can’t get a signal in the basement.
Also, 6x3 and a table. Sounds like if you nail plywood down to cover the hole (I’d cover the whole space, just to make it even, and take the door down permanently, you have a nice computer nook.
Maybe just storage space though. You can put up some shelves, and a couple of those stick-on tap lights. A doorknob is easy to install.
Is it possible there was once a dumbwaiter, or something, and the phone is internal-- that is, it’s a hook-up for inside the house, but you can’t dial out?
We still don’t know if this is one house remodeled to have individual units, or something originally built as separate apartments. If it’s a remodeled single family dwelling, there are lots of scenarios that make sense.
If it was a pantry at one time, it makes sense there would be access to the cellar, if food was stored there, and it also makes sense there would be a phone to call places to order food for delivery-- or even just to have things ready for pick-up.
My mother had a phone with a long cord in the kitchen (ETA: after we moved to a house in Queens), and it reached into the pantry, which was about 4x4. Instead of making a list when she ordered stuff, she just walked through and asked for things that were “missing.” She was anal enough that things always went in the same place, so if there was a bare spot on a shelf, she knew what was supposed to be there, and therefore, what to order.
I’m pretty sure that once you are able to go down into the basement, you’ll find two guys down there entering the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 42 into a computer every 108 minutes. Make sure they don’t leave.
This is from your second post after he answered your question. You seem to be in such a tizzy to throw out scenarios and questions, you don’t read to see if he has answered any of your questions.
Sounds like a win all around thus far. You really should check out the hatch, though. It may come in handy as a secret escape route or a really cool hidey hole. Any plans on what you will do with your new found space, Porchepine?
And somewhere in the universe a door closes, apparently of it’s own accord. A being stares at it intently, mutters “I’ll be damned”, then returns to the task of painting the room. “Gonna need more paint, now”, thinks the being. Many years later, a new tenant moves in…
I missed that one post because I think we cross-posted. Also, the “go to first unread post” function hasn’t worked for me for about a week on this site, so I have to guess at what page I’m up to, and then search for my name to try to find the last post I read. So I miss a few.
