A question arose about a fixture discovered on the floor of a closet in a house built in 1937. The closet is located between the kitchen and what used to be the dining room, which has a call button in the center for summoning servants.
Opinions on the fixture varied:
1. Some suggested it might be the bottom socket for an old, vertical shoe tree.
2. Others speculated it could be an old fixture for a gas appliance, noting a visible pipe in the ceiling on the floor below.
3. Observations of a roughly 3′ x 1′ rectangle in front of the flange, where the varnish is shinier, led to guesses ranging from a space for a gas fireplace or furnace to a drain pipe for an old icebox in a butler’s pantry.
4. Additional suggestions included a connection for a speaking tube, a lavatory flange, or a bracket for a pole serving as a vertical support for shelves or a clothing rod.
Ultimately, the mystery remained unsolved, with many eager to discover its purpose.