Editor's Notebook: Real Estate Speculation

Years ago, I accompanied a friend around South Orange and Maplewood as she browsed open houses for the perfect home. Once, in West Montrose, as she measured the kitchen, I wandered to the basement of the aging Victorian. It was an "as is" sale; the previous owner's belongings remained, and no work had been done to update the house.

As I walked back into the kitchen, I saw the broker.  "Where's the laundry hookup?" I asked. "How did they do laundry?" He paused. "It's down there," he said. "I think." We looked together, but the basement had no utility sink or obvious place to put a washing machine. I shrugged, but he beckoned. "No laundry," he said, "but there is this."

The broker unlocked a door I had hardly noticed and pushed it open. Inside, was a two-lane bowling alley that ran the length of the house. Though it was dusty, the wooden pins were still set up, as if the previous owner had left mid-game. Speechless, I nodded my thanks, and have wondered ever since what the buyers did with that space.

I was reminded of this when I read "Where the Secrets Were Kept" in the February 19 New York Times. The article describes and shows photos of several "hidden" features in New York City homes. One house boasts a hiding place for Prohibition booze, while another had a Valentine hidden behind a door for decades.

Our old local homes have compelling mysteries and secret spaces, as well. A friend explained the tiny, perfect hole in her dining room floor as a call bell for the servants who worked in the kitchen and lived in the attic. Another friend's house has a dozen square slots built into a dining room wall, each about 3 inches by 3 inches. After years of speculation, they learned that the house was once a school, and the slots were where the students stored their cloth napkins between meals.

So what's in your home, or what you have seen that perplexed you? Patch wants to know what's hidden in your South Orange home. Tell us in the comments, or send info and a photo (if possible) to MarciaW@Patch.com.

Thanks!