Could this have been a speakeasy?

[JacquieJet]

Ok, so bear with me on this...
My build date is around 1919. Our basement is unfinished, and has what we’ve always called “the pig pen” in the basement- basically an enclosure with a half swing door and a countertop with shelving on the inside portion.
A PO’s family used that room as a dark room (he was an avid photographer), and I’ve always assumed that he built the enclosure.
Until today.
I was talking to the PO’s daughter (she’s amazing!), and she mentioned that her father wasn’t handy and did not build it. They bought in 1955. So, obviously it predates that.
The owners before had the father pass away in 1944, and the mother and children lived here until 1955. Apparently, when it was bought in 1955, the house was in disrepair. So, The absolute earliest this enclosure could have been built was 1944, but I’m guessing it’s older.

Anyone know anything about this? Does it look like a bar? There’s no floor drain, or evidence of livestock, so I don’t think it was actually an animal pen. Probation/temperance was from 1918-1927 around here I believe, so it’s possible that’s what this is, right? Just looking for info or direction at this point!

Here’s a pic- please excuse the clutter:

[JacquieJet]

Here’s a picture of one of the two doors that lead out of the room:

[Willa]

Hmm, it's hard to guess at what the story might have been for such a configuration ? I wonder if there are any books about Ontario history and prohibition, and how things like speakeasies usually operated ? I don't know if a home on a residential street would have been the most discreet location, but that may have provided good coverage for such activities.

Do you know about the book "Of Toronto the Good" ? It's from the late 1800's, and Coles Books did a 1970's reprint. Basically it is some complete curmudgeon's observations and descriptions about what an uncultured, sordid dump Toronto was, full of the worst people imaginable. His tone is scathing. It would be a riot read aloud at parties. I had a copy given to me but I gave it away (after reading aloud many excerpts). The street where my ex and I owned a house was mentioned by name, as the location for several roving brothels. This predates prohibition and speakeasies but there might be some crumbs of information that would tell you about your area ? If not, the book is definitely worth reading at least once. I bet the library has at least one copy in circulation.

https://www.amazon.ca/Toronto-Good-Social-Classic-Reprint/dp/1330779355]

[JacquieJet]

I don't know if a home on a residential street would have been the most discreet location, but that may have provided good coverage for such activities.

Do you know about the book "Of Toronto the Good" ? It's from the late 1800's, and Coles Books did a 1970's reprint. Basically it is some complete curmudgeon's observations and descriptions about what an uncultured, sordid dump Toronto was, full of the worst people imaginable. His tone is scathing. It would be a riot read aloud at parties. I had a copy given to me but I gave it away (after reading aloud many excerpts). The street where my ex and I owned a house was mentioned by name, as the location for several roving brothels. This predates prohibition and speakeasies but there might be some crumbs of information that would tell you about your area ? If not, the book is definitely worth reading at least once. I bet the library has at least one copy in circulation.

https://www.amazon.ca/Toronto-Good-Social-Classic-Reprint/dp/1330779355]

I agree, the residential location might not be the best for it, but we are walking distance from the downtown area, so... who knows. I might completely be off base with my hypothesis! It never crossed my mind until tonight, because I figured it was built more recently then it actually was.

Thanks for the book recommendation!
Sounds like a good read!!

[1918ColonialRevival]

How close is it to your chimney/furnace? My first thought would be a coal storage area.

[Gothichome]

My thoughts are the same as Colonials, coal room. What looks to be a plywood facing was once boards to the ceiling some were in that room you may find the remains of a coal shoot. In my case the coal shoot has been bricked in but the remains of the nailers for the shoot remain.
It’s my understanding that prohibition was a spotty affair in Canada from the late eighteen hundreds to mid twenties century for the most part it was left up to the local counties to decide by plebiscite. All but the WW1 years were it fas federally mandated as part of the war effort. There are examples like in Toronto, were one boughrough voted for and the other against so you had the scenario were if you wanted a beer and in dry boughrough you could just walk across the steet.

[JacquieJet]

Nope, not coal storage. The chimney and the coal shoot were in another part of the basement (there is still leftover coal dust there, and it was near a window, so I’m fairly sure of this).
Prohibition in Ontario lasted from about 1918-1927, I believe.

[JacquieJet]

How close is it to your chimney/furnace? My first thought would be a coal storage area.

Not very close. There is a separate furnace spot and coal storage spot on the other side of the basement.

[1918ColonialRevival]

My second thought would be that it started life as a general purpose storage area that was converted into something by an early owner. It could have been converted to a personal bar area in the early '30s by a previous owner when Prohibition was lifted, or even during Prohibition for the homeowner's personal use - hard to say. An early version of a "man cave", so to speak. Even though hooch was illegal, it was abundant and easy to get. When I demolished a partition in my basement, it contained three bottles of scotch wrapped in the remains of a Baltimore American newspaper dated 1922. Your first homeowner could have missed sitting at a bar having a drink and decided to build a small version for himself/herself and to have a place to hide a couple of bottles.

Changing gears, this area could have set up for a hobby one of the early owners had. One thought that crossed my mind was a setup area for a model railroad, which became a popular hobby in North America in the 1920s for adults and kids alike. A lot of early model railroads were father and son projects.

Try researching the early owners of the house and learning all you can about them. That will give you some clues to what it might have been.

A speakeasy in a residential neighborhood would have drawn the wrong kind of attention fast. If any of our readers here have ever lived in the 'hood, it's obvious early on the house(s) that drugs are being dealt from. Different people coming and going at odd hours, unfamiliar vehicles coming and going - that wouldn't have lasted long in a newly constructed residential area, especially in the '20s.

[JacquieJet]

My second thought would be that it started life as a general purpose storage area that was converted into something by an early owner. It could have been converted to a personal bar area in the early '30s by a previous owner when Prohibition was lifted, or even during Prohibition for the homeowner's personal use - hard to say. An early version of a "man cave", so to speak. Even though hooch was illegal, it was abundant and easy to get. When I demolished a partition in my basement, it contained three bottles of scotch wrapped in the remains of a Baltimore American newspaper dated 1922. Your first homeowner could have missed sitting at a bar having a drink and decided to build a small version for himself/herself and to have a place to hide a couple of bottles.

Changing gears, this area could have set up for a hobby one of the early owners had. One thought that crossed my mind was a setup area for a model railroad, which became a popular hobby in North America in the 1920s for adults and kids alike. A lot of early model railroads were father and son projects.

Try researching the early owners of the house and learning all you can about them. That will give you some clues to what it might have been.

A speakeasy in a residential neighborhood would have drawn the wrong kind of attention fast. If any of our readers here have ever lived in the 'hood, it's obvious early on the house(s) that drugs are being dealt from. Different people coming and going at odd hours, unfamiliar vehicles coming and going - that wouldn't have lasted long in a newly constructed residential area, especially in the '20s.

So, the plot thickens...
the first owner never lived here (he rented it out, and the tenants changed frequently), and the second owner was a bank manager, who only stayed a short time, and the third owner was also a bank manager who had just lost 2 of his 3 children (one was KIA in WWI and the other died of Spanish influenza shortly before they moved here). Their remaining son would have been around 16 years old when they moved in. They stayed until around 1927 if memory serves.