“Hinashizaka Slope on the left, and Fujimizaka Slope on the right. Apparently you could see Mt Fuji from here on the early 1900s. Likely blocked nowadays.”
Old Architecture Looks Like In Japan (30 Pics)
History, although not always correct, is very important to our society. Without it, there would be no traditions to follow today, culture to appreciate, or memories of our ancestors that we can learn so much from.
Instagram account Japan Property Central shares a really important part of history—architecture. Their photographers travel around Japan, capturing the oldest buildings and how they look. How they’re being used today. Many of them have been repurposed to be something else, like hotels, shops, or even homes.
The buildings are really beautiful and unique. The way they harmonize with the modern world around them is an amazing sight to see. These buildings are like monuments of history, a portal which transports you to old times.
More info: Instagram | japanpropertycentral.com
We got an interview with Zoe. She told us the main goal behind these photos: “To share the interesting buildings and homes in Tokyo and other parts of Japan, and the history and stories behind them. The older homes may be at risk of being demolished and redeveloped, so I want to try and document them while they are still standing. Sometimes I am too late.”
“A tatami shop in Tsukiji, Tokyo. Built sometime in the 1920s or 1930s, and still seems to be operating today. The building is a great surviving example of the pre-war shophouses found in Tsukiji and around Tokyo’s other historic merchant districts. If you look at the roof line you can see a line of windows showing a 3rd floor or attic that may have been added at a later date.”
Here’s how Zoe got into photographing these buildings: “Out of necessity. I run a real estate brokerage and the property photos we receive from listing agents do not always show the property in the best possible light. Many times there are no photos at all. Many of our buyers are foreigners and expect high-quality photos before they will decide to inspect a home or apartment, especially if they are flying in from overseas. Often I will have to go and take the photos myself. I am still very much a beginner at photography.”
“The entrance to the Edo Senke tea ceremony estate in Ueno, Tokyo. The buildings are historic, having been shifted here from a Daimyo’s mansion in the 1860s. Wooden tea houses are relatively easy to dismantle and relocate, and it wasn’t unusual for old buildings or even parts of them to be moved and reused. It still happens today on occasion. When people talk about Japan’s scrap-and-build approach to buildings, they are not referring to the traditional construction methods that last centuries. Alas, the grounds of this estate are privately owned and not open to the public.”
“Futaba Sushi, Ginza. First opened in 1877. The current building dates from the 1950s. Note the sushi ‘yatai’ cart built into the ground floor, right in the center. Sorry, no photography allowed inside the restaurant.”
Zoe shares the difficulties she runs into while capturing the photos: “Trying to get a shot without a car or van blocking the building. I usually wait until there are no pedestrians or cars in the frame. It might only be a few minutes, but other times I have to come back later. Another challenge is that the streets are often very narrow (some streets are just 2 meters wide), so you need a wide-angle lens for some locations.”
“Gion Shirakawa at dusk. This laneway is a cobblestone shortcut near Shirakawa River. If you follow it you’ll end up at Shijo Street.”
“Kiyomizu-dera Temple and its hinoki wood stage. Founded in 778. I wonder if this is the quietest it has ever been in its 1200 year history. The main hall and stage were built entirely without the use of nails (or screws) in 1633. The wooden foundation pillars below stand 13 meters tall and are made from 400-year old trees.
The main hall was covered in scaffolding for over three years while the roof was redone, and only just removed in February 2020. It had been 50 years since the bark-thatched roof had been replaced.
Many of the buildings within the temple grounds date from the mid-1600s. There were a few fires up until that point that had destroyed the even older structures.”
“In my free time, I like to explore different neighborhoods and share some stories about the interesting buildings I find along the way. If I have an afternoon or an evening free, I’ll go for a walk around all the back streets of a neighborhood in search of some interesting buildings. You are almost guaranteed to find a few no matter where you go. Sometimes I will have a particular house in mind, or be in the neighborhood checking out listings for sale and use it as an opportunity to explore a little and take some photos.”
Here is how Zoe describes her style: “Chaotic. The city is just a jumble of power lines, street signs, bicycles, and construction. I would love to take clean and uncluttered photos but I am realizing that it is impossible in Tokyo. I no longer notice all the transformer boxes and power lines anymore.”
“Once Upon a Time. A bar in a historic brick storehouse in Yushima, Tokyo. Built sometime in the late 1800s. The bar owner has been renting this space since the mid-1970s. Downstairs has a bar counter and tables, while the 2nd floor has an event space.
Not sure how much longer this historic building will remain standing. The property owner wants to demolish it rather than repair it, with news of its potential future demise first reported back in 2013. Last year there were stories that it would close in 2022.”
“An old shophouse alongside the Ikenoue Shopping Street in Tokyo. This would have once had a shop on the ground floor, but has been converted into a private residence some time ago.”
“It has always been a personal interest. There’s an assumption that Tokyo is a big metropolis of shiny glass buildings and neon lights, but it’s a very old city with lots of more humble, older, and traditional streets that don’t get featured in the tourist guides. Something is charming about them, especially when they have a very worn patina and are lived-in and cared for,” said Zoe about how she came up with the idea to photograph old buildings.”
I started putting more effort into my company’s Instagram account about three years ago. I still have a very long list of places to share and neighborhoods to visit. I don’t think I will be stopping any time soon.”
“The Ogawa Dorayaki Store alongside Asakusa-dori Avenue. Dorayaki is made from two pancakes or pikelets with red bean paste filling. This little shop was a hold-out, and is now sandwiched between a 13-story office building on all three sides.”
“This shophouse was built in 1918 as a hardware store. At a later point it housed a bar and restaurant but has sat vacant for the past few years.”
“There’s something about living in a constantly evolving city like Tokyo that is very energizing and motivating. There’s always something to see or somewhere to visit. It’s also a very safe and clean place to live, and it is incredibly easy to get around by train with no need for a car. Some of the architects and building designs are among the best in the world. My favorite ones are the weird and unusual homes often built on tiny plots of land in the middle of the city. You have to be very creative to come up with some of the designs, especially when the land itself might be just 50 square meters in size.”
“Café Sakanoshita – a charming place inside a 90-year old renovated kominka house. Closed on Mondays. Unfortunate timing!”
“Tenyasu Tsukudani, a store selling simmered and preserved food since 1838. This shophouse was built in the 1920s. The streets would have once been lined with buildings like this.
This part of Tsukuda has a history going back 400 years, and is where the traditional tsukudani preserved food originated.”
Here is what inspires Zoe: “Being able to continue to connect with all kinds of wonderful people who are also into Japanese architecture, new and old, and who like to explore different neighborhoods. The most unexpected and fun part is seeing sketch artists in other countries create amazing artwork from photos I posted.”
“Tsuruse traditional inn and kaiseki restaurant. Built from Hinoki cypress wood in the 1920s~1930s, but the restaurant has been operating even longer. The outdoor terrace dining deck along Kamo River is the largest of its kind in Japan, seating over 200.”
“The Philosopher’s Path (or walk). A peaceful path alongside the Biwa Canal. The historic canal was completed in 1890 and the 1.8-kilometer long walking trail was completed in 1968 thanks to efforts by local residents. It was named to honor Nishida Kitarō (1870-1945), said to be Japan’s most influential and significant philosopher of the 20th century. He would walk along this path each day on his way to teach at Kyoto University. He later moved to Kamakura, and his home there has been preserved to this day.”
Zoe gives some advice to photographers and artists out there in the world: “It’s okay if you don’t know what you are doing or don’t have a particular goal with what you are currently doing. Do what makes you happy and gives you the most joy creating. Maybe it will lead you somewhere?”
“Tea House ‘Go-an’ by Terunobu Fujimori. Part of the Pavilion Tokyo 2021 / Tokyo Tokyo FESTIVAL being held in connection with the 2020 Olympics. Fujimori is known for his creative and often elevated tea house designs that are far from traditional. This one resembles a ‘yagura’ watchtower with a grass-covered base (the same turf used on race tracks) and burnt cedar walls. The ceiling is decorated with crushed cedar pieces. To enter, you must crawl through a small circular door at the rear and climb a ladder to the tea room upstairs. The tea house is a temporary structure and will be disassembled when the exhibit ends on September 5, 2021. Viewing the interior requires advance bookings.”
“This group of three shophouses in Nihonbashi was listed for sale a little over a month ago for ¥149 million (US$1.35 million), and appears to have already sold, if the removal of all of the online listings is any indication. That means demolition is likely looming.
The terraces date from the 1920s or 1930s and are on Chuo City’s list of early 20th century modern architecture. Sadly being on that list, or having any type of official heritage recognition, doesn’t provide any legal protection to prevent these historic buildings from being demolished. A few from the list have been torn down in recent years, and more will follow. They are a wonderful example of kanban-kenchiku (#看板建築), or billboard style architecture.
The terraces sit on 92 sqm of commercially zoned land, and some suggested redevelopment plans for a 13-story block of 17 units with a potential gross yield of 8% have been provided. That’s a hugely impressive yield and a very low price for land like this. There’s a good reason, too – the land is leasehold. It’s the old, and almost perpetually renewable leasehold type, and the landowner is a major real estate company, so there is some stability with that type of landlord.
The majority of land in Tokyo and across Japan is freehold, but occasionally you might encounter a leasehold property. It’s really important that you fully understand the costs, pros and cons, and legal entitlements and obligations that come with leasehold properties, as they can easily be a source of disputes and troubles for the inexperienced.”
The author tells us more about herself and her journey: “I first moved here about 15 years ago, after growing up in a rural part of Australia. I first got involved in the real estate industry in Japan in 2008 and opened my own real estate brokerage company in 2014. I did not speak any Japanese when I first moved here but studied for a long time after I arrived. You need to be fluent to work in real estate here as all of the sellers and agents will only speak Japanese, and all of the documentation and legal explanations are also in the Japanese language only.”
“The Yasaka Pagoda in Hōkan-ji Temple, Kyoto. First built in 592. It was destroyed in a fire in 1191 that broke out after a dispute between Kiyomizu Temple and Yasaka Shrine and had to be rebuilt. In 1291 it was struck by lightning and rebuilt in 1309. It was lost again to a fire in 1436. The current pagoda dates from 1440, making it 581 years old. The foundation stone for the central pillar of the pagoda is said to be the original one from over 1,400 years ago.”
“Fujiya Ryokan and its ‘kawadoko’ river floor dining set up for the hot summer months. These floating floors first appeared over the Kibune River in the 1910s~1920s and have become a summer tradition ever since. Several restaurants and ryokans along this section of the river set up these tatami dining areas each year.
Fujiya Ryokan has one of the longest histories in the area, having been founded in the 1830s~1840s. ”
“If you do get the chance to visit Japan in the future, don’t be afraid to skip some of the over-touristy areas and explore some of the more local neighborhoods. Instead of Shibuya Crossing, for example, I would go for a wander to try all of the coffee shops around Yoyogi-Koen, a 15-minute walk north, or head a few stations over to Shimokitazawa for some vintage clothing. If you are into old architecture, there is the Edo-Tokyo Open-Air Architectural Museum in Tokyo and the Meiji-mura museum in Nagoya (highly recommended!). Otherwise, you can still see a few old buildings around Tokyo’s former merchant districts like Tsukiji and Nihonbashi.”
“The offices of a prune company near Shibuya Station. Designed by Yuzo Nagata on behalf of Takenaka Corporation and built in 1985. The facade is clad in small granite tiles. Nagata founded his own architectural practice that same year. His works are often statement pieces with detailed tiled facades. Several of his designs are large private residences, including one in Omotesando.”
“The former home of actor Denjiro Okochi, famous for starring in many samurai-themed movies. His two-hectare estate sits on the hillside just above the Arashiyama bamboo path and has sweeping views over Kyoto City. His main residence pictured above is called Daijokaku. It was built by Sukiya-zukuri master Kaichiro Usui and was completed in 1941.
The grounds are open to the public as the Okochi Sanso Garden, with an admission fee of ¥1,000 per person.”
“The Toranomon Osaka-ya Sunaba Soba Restaurant. The current building was completed just before the 1923 Kanto Earthquake, although the restaurant itself has been operating since 1872. It was registered as a Tangible Cultural Property in 2011.”
“The entrance to the Ro-an Teahouse in Shōsei-en Garden. The gate leads to a tea garden and represents the delineation of the serenity of the tea ceremony and the chaos of the world outside. This tea house was rebuilt in 1957. The garden and its structures were destroyed twice by fires, once in 1858 and again in the 1864 riot.”
“The former Mitsui Family Shimogamo Villa. Built in 1925, although part of the home dates from the 1880s, having been detached and relocated here from their other, larger villa near Sanjo Street (since demolished). The European-influenced part of the house was the newer portion built in 1925. Despite the grandeur, this home was built as a rest-stop for when they visited their ancestral shrine nearby. The property was transferred to the national government in 1949, and from 1951 to 2007 it was used as the official residence of the president of the Kyoto Family Court.”
“The merchant house of Nakashima Shokai. Built in 1928. The decorative sheet copper facade is a wonderful example of billboard architecture (kanban-kenchiku).”
“A traditional setting in Tokyo’s Kanda district. An early postwar house now swamped by office buildings. Miraculously the sun is still able to shine down on the narrow laneway.”
“Seikoro Ryokan, Kyoto. Established in 1831 as a traditional inn. The current buildings date from 1901 and 1921.”
Note: this post originally had 100 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
Old Architecture Looks Like In Japan (30 Pics)
Wednesday, 13 September 2023
History, although not always correct, is very important to our society. Without it, there would be no traditions to follow today, culture to appreciate, or memories of our ancestors that we can learn so much from. Instagram account Japan Property Central shares a really important part of history—architecture. Their photographers travel around Japan, capturing the
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30 Construction Workers Share What Creepy Secret Rooms They Were Asked To Build
For Secret Rooms, Your home is your castle. So if you want to install a huge window in your street-facing toilet, by all means, go for it.
Just keep in mind that not only your neighbors, but the entire internet might shame your decision. Plus, selling a property with, let’s call them, extravagant features can be tricky.
To learn more about people’s architectural whims, Reddit user OuterSpacewaysInc made a post on the platform, asking construction workers to share stories about all the secret rooms and other strange compartments they had to build for the owners. Turns out, plenty of folks have secrets they want to keep to themselves.
Residential contractor here. A client once asked that I add a 4×6 room next to the master that would be “just big enough to allow someone to ‘calm down’ if they were being ‘bad'”. Specs had no windows. Brick walls. Double thick door, etc. He gave off that creepy as hell vibe, but you know, money.
Anyway, the job was going fine until we ran out of red bricks and started using those blue and yellow ones. He lost his s**t! Canceled the contract and never looked back.
tldr: My son’s standards for Lego houses are so high that Jesus himself couldn’t reach them.
Just moved into a house that was built in the 70s. The previous owners custom built it, and the architect was the man’s old frat buddy. Custom stuff everywhere (trash chute straight from the kitchen into the garage wheelie bin!).
When we first looked at the house, we really loved it, but there was no office space that my husband could use for his music stuff. It was the only disappointing thing about the house, but since everything else was so perfect, we went ahead and put in the offer.
When we were doing another walkthrough with our parents, we showed them the walk up attic, which is pretty cool too. When I turned around to leave, I noticed a wall of insulation that looked….different. if you push the insulation to one side, a doorknob appears. And behind it is the secret office.
Coolest house ever.
My dad is a doctor and does a lot of construction at home in his free time. This one time he was moving a wall, making one room smaller and another bigger. He was putting an entire-wall-bookshelf kind of thing in the smaller room, and just to f**k with future homeowners he snatched one of those plastic skeletons from his job and hid it in the space between the bookshelf and the wall
I expect headlines sometime in the future
In the 1970s, a group of Edinburgh students living in a flat in Niddry Street, in the city’s Old Town, knocked on a wall and heard a hollow sound.
Curious, and probably drunk, they knocked a hole through it, where they exposed an old labyrinth of corridors and rooms underneath North Bridge, nearly half a mile in length. People had lived and died in these rooms, underneath the city’s bridge. There had been bars and brothels, and doss houses for the poor.
People in Victorian times had closed it off and subsequent generations had forgotten where the entrances were.
Never built one, but I did find one in a house I was doing some plumbing work in once. This was an expensive condo, and they had a secret office that had a secret one-way mirror looking into the GUEST SHOWER. Creepy as f**k, man.
Wife and I had a secret, soundproof “sex dungeon” type room built adjacent to our bedroom. The reason for the room is that we have various devices in there that are impractical to disassemble and put away when we have friends over (or the day we have kids and still want to enjoy our fun discreetly).
We had some devices installed when we built the room, such as a large metal cage and other restraining devices. The people who built the room probably asked us a hundred times if we were sure we didn’t plan to abduct people. The architect nearly dropped the project when I jokingly asked him to make sure there’d be an electric outlet to plug a chainsaw.
Was a draughtsman for a while. Two super wealthy Chinese parents were building all three of their children houses on their massive property. I was asked to design the ironing room for the eldest daughter. She…genuinely liked doing ironing? And laundry? I ended up designing this massive room with bay windows overlooking the lake with all sorts of storage compartments and a variety of ironing stations. She loved it, I got a healthy bonus, and I’m still confused to this day.
I had a client once who wanted a safe room. Full concrete, ballistic glass, rated to withstand explosions, reinforced doors, separate power, and HVAC systems. Dedicated phone and tele/data as well with direct alarms to security and the police.
The thing that was unusual was that they wanted it handled entirely separately. A different building permit, with a different crew, all work being done at night. If anyone was ever able to find blueprints or permits to plan a Hollywood-style caper, they wouldn’t know about the safe room. (This was a public building, not a private residence.)
During the finishing stages of doing a basement, the customer decided she wanted a wall with dead space behind it. Gave no reasoning, only details how big she wanted it. I had joked multiple times it would end up being a tiny grow room for Marijuana.
It ended up becoming a small grow room for Marijuana.
This one to me is the coolest. We have a family friend who is a builder and built his own house (obviously). I haven’t been over to his house in a while, but last time I was there, they were still finishing it (they’ve been finishing it for several years, and you’ll see why soon). Their house is 7 stories tall (4 above, 3 basement levels), has elevators, a full-size basketball court (indoors), several kitchens and living rooms, a huge theater room, an apartment that is attached with its own kitchen, living room, dining room, and 4 bedrooms, and the main house has countless bedrooms and other multipurpose rooms. The house is enormous.
BUT the coolest part is the house has those McDonald’s slides in it. There are 2 in it (maybe more now) of these slides. One goes from the top floor to the bottom, and one goes from the top floor to ground level. In the biggest one however, there is a secret passage, thats kind of hard to get to. When the slide gets to its steepest point, you have to brace yourself against the walls so you stop. If you can, the slide actually has a tunnel to the side that you can take. When you go through that secret tunnel, it takes you to a secret balcony in their in-home theater, with a fridge and chairs and stuff. It’s a pain in the butt to get to, but it’s really cool.
They do have a few other hidden rooms, but unfortunately, the guy who owned the house wouldn’t tell us, he said we had to find them on our own. Every time I was there spent the entire time knocking on walls, inspecting bookshelves, etc
I am not a construction worker. I. attended a private boarding school when I was younger the school itself was 200+ years old and the castle it was built around was much older. Upon exploring I and a few other friends found an entrance to a system of tunnels that ran beneath the school. The tunnels were used as maintenance tunnels for the old heating system that was once run from a gas boiler system. Originally we thought that was why they were built. We began trying to map out the tunnels and used to spend hours underneath the school during study time/ night roaming around with a measuring tape drawing it to scale. We never completed the map due to the systems enormity.
As we got further and further into the tunnels we learnt that these were much older than just the gas boiler. A new, cement tunnel seemed to extend about a kilometer in radius. Past a kilometer the tunnels got older and more dangerous. We found that they extended all the way out to a pavilion in our school. These passages were also in cement but were very clearly much older. Most of my time as a 14-year-old was spent roaming around them. It gave us passages into locked rooms, the castle (banned grounds), to the forests, etc. We decorated a lot of the walls down there in shoe polish and stolen art paints. We would even smoke down there a mere few feet below the headmaster’s office.
Had a request to build a hidden room which was to my belief be used as a sex dungeon. He requested low-hanging support beams, a sunken in part for “storage” we painted it in red and black colours. The floor was tiled in one portion for a drain.
Electrician here. Have done a few. The coolest was a secret passageway and attached room in a very nice house. It was hidden by a movable bookshelf on both ends. The guy said he didn’t have a specific reason for building it, he just always thought it would be cool to have a secret passageway in his house.
The other one that stands out was an underground survival bunker accessed through a hidden door in the back of a garage. It had an additional exit by means of an underground tunnel that lead almost 100 feet in the bordering forest. The strangest thing about it was that it was a survival bunker where he had our wire with outlets and lights, despite there not being any type of backup/off-the-grid power. Makes me think that he actually had an alternative purpose for the shelter.
Electrician here. The customer wanted a sliding bookcase that hid 2 fire poles that slid down into the basement. Just like the old Batman TV show. He even had the bust on his desk that had a button under the flip-up head. The customer told me the bust was from the original show.
The house also had a couple of hidden doors and a panic room hidden behind a Tardis. It really was bigger on the inside.
There’s this one house we did where there was a concealed stairway from the master bedroom to the dining room, just so the parents could get booze and snacks without walking past the kid’s rooms. Concealed because at the top of the stair was a massive safe.
Plenty of times. There was one I never saw the finished stages of that was basically an entire apartment accessible only by a small hatch in a closet. Either the homeowner was planning to harbor criminals, or a mistress, a man in an iron mask, or just really wanted to be able to get away from his family. Hope it wasn’t like an HH Holmes thing.
Did a lot of mansions and this wasn’t insanely common but far more than I expected. There was one builder that did a lot of these houses who managed to find a retired electric chair that he kept in a hidden room. He ‘joked’ that when his kids were bad he would make them sit in it for a few hours. It didn’t have power running to it but still.
I was a custom interior carpenter and I did two. One was a bookcase that opened up into a large storage area.
The other was a hidden room behind their wine cellar. We installed a custom wine rack on a piano hinge, with a latch in the space behind one of the bottles. In the room, they installed a safe and a gun safe. All of the electronics for the house lived down there, as well as a panel that opened up into the main living room, in case you wanted to shoot an intruder from the safe room.
Booze, guns, and safety all in one place. I guess what I’m saying is that I know where I’m going when the zombies come.
I built a Narnia closet for someone. Their daughter had one request for the new house: she had a built-in armoire, white and modern looking with nice shelving units on the right side and a bigger opening on the left. However, when you pushed the back of the left, closet side, it opened up into an actual closet that was about 5×10 feet on the inside, not too shabby at all. Was a pretty fun build, albeit somewhat challenging. Edit: spelling/words.
I used to work construction over the summers in high school and within just a few miles of where I grew up there are 20,000sq+ foot homes…anyways this one client (who was pretty well known for being a CEO of a large corporation) requested a secret self-contained smoking room. Complete with a secret entrance, a bathroom, cedar paneling, self-contained heat and A/c, and an industrial-sized smoke-eater. Along with hideaway shelving that would store an endless amount of mason jars full of pot. Also has some crazy vaporizer as well. He would have meetings upstairs in his underwear and robe whole being high as f**k
I’ve been painting houses since I was 15 and I’ve done two. One was a room behind a bookcase for the kid’s playroom. The second was in a millionaire’s summer home. On the fourth floor of the house, there was a closet on the same wall as the elevator. A section of drywall came away and lead to behind the elevator. There was a wooden ladder that went up and down the entire house, at the very top was a trap door that lead to a small room that was about 6 by 6 feet. It had windows and vents that could be opened or sealed completely. Pretty sure it was for their son to hotbox.
I convinced my brother to add a secret door from one closet to the other closer between his daughters rooms when we were building his house.
Kinda not secret. In my old flat, I had a room that was locked with a big yale lock. Whenever we’d have people round, they would always want to know what was in there, but I never let on.
It was my hobby room, so to speak. I used to fix up vintage guitar amps in there and the lock was there simply as I couldn’t trust my drunk friends to not go in there to mess with stuff. Amps have lethal voltages even when they haven’t been used in a while.
But, I liked the mystique and intrigue whenever people were around. The women were the worst and their hypotheses were always centered around a secret dodgy sex life.
My house has two secret rooms, one of them is the obligatory bookshelf. A real shelving unit with real books, that also…. (clicks a secret button)
When the local FBI office in the city I live in was being built an owner change order came in to make all the finishes in these two rooms in the basement rated for pressure washing. These two rooms were immediately nicked named the murder rooms by the construction workers.
I work for a contractor. We once built a house for a family with three kids. Each bedroom had a high bed, accessible by a ladder, built into the room itself. And each bed had a little door in it that led to a tunnel connecting all the rooms together. Pretty cool!
Yes, we worked on what was supposedly going to be a hidden/secret walk-in safe in the basement. This room was heavily reinforced.
Normally, walls around doors are framed using wood. This door frame was solid reinforced concrete. The room was a square attached to the outside of the basement, so all four walls were concrete. We poured concrete above it, so the ceiling was concrete. (Very unusual!) We also poured the floor.
So, it was six sides made of concrete. Since it was attached to the outside, there was no sign that it existed from the inside. No ventilation. No wiring from what I saw.
I never saw the finished product, but the owner was keeping it a secret, and wouldn’t explain much about it. So another contractor finished it off.
A friend of the family works as a custom cabinet maker. Most of his jobs involve him making secret compartments for rich clients. Mainly desks with a secret place that can hide guns, keys, ledgers, and swords (oddly enough a lot of people request that), but also that stuff in bookshelves, picture frames, etc. He also gets your typical movable bookshelves.
Yep. All the time. People that can afford it pay a lot for panic rooms and hidden armories. Swinging bookcases, doors in wall paneling, you name it. People with that much money usually have something to protect.
I used to do some construction work on schools during the summer. The principal wanted, in his closet, a door to slide up where he could keep safe for special school records, and a mini-fridge. Although it wasn’t very big or that cool. It was the coolest work I ever was involved in that summer. Plus, who wouldn’t want a mini-fridge hidden in their wall?
Note: this post originally had 76 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
30 Construction Workers Share What Creepy Secret Rooms They Were Asked To Build
Tuesday, 22 August 2023
For Secret Rooms, Your home is your castle. So if you want to install a huge window in your street-facing toilet, by all means, go for it. Just keep in mind that not only your neighbors, but the entire internet might shame your decision. Plus, selling a property with, let’s call them, extravagant features can
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