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February 12, 2007
Archeological architecture
I'm trying to figure out what must have been an original system in our 1895 Upper West Side brownstone. On each floor we have 2 metal registers in the wall (same side as the fireplaces), each is about 1 foot off the floor and about 2 feet tall and about 1.5 feet wide. There seems to be a cavity in the brick that connects the registers vertically. Whatever these things may have been connected to in the cellar is long gone.
Does anyone know what this system was? Could the registers have been part of an early heating system?
Thanks in advance to the historical sleuths out there.
Comments
I know my brownstone was heated with gas fireplaces from 1909 until 1915 when the steam heat was installed. those registers may have been gas heaters.
Posted by: Anonymous at February 12, 2007 2:35 PM
I'm the original poster. There are also fireplaces that were originally gas - a few feet away from the registers. Would they have doubled up like that?
Posted by: OP at February 12, 2007 3:01 PM
I have those registers in my house too. They were connected to a coal-fired hot air furnace in the cellar, the hot air rose into the ducts by conduction. I still have the round openings for the furnace connectors in the cellar. The original furnace looked like an octopus with multiple arms brancing out to the ducts.
Posted by: anon at February 12, 2007 6:34 PM
This was actually an early, passive form of air-conditioning, whereby cool area from the cellar, which tends to be cool even in the summer, is conveyed to the upper floors.
Posted by: Anonymous at February 13, 2007 8:08 AM
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