My Kitchen (2 of 2)

Here's the door to the serving pantry, which occupies a roofed-over section of the original wraparound porch. Please note the thickness of the wall. Daheim's kitchen wing, containing kitchen, servant hall, pantries, and eight second-floor servants' rooms, is essentially a free standing, 2-story, steel frame, stone and poured concrete structure attached to the original frame house by the pantry. This wing of the house could take a direct hit by heavy artillery, which is a good thing since it originally housed the sort of Victorian era coal fired furnace that frequently blew up.




Here's the walk-in cooler, a pre-refrigeration era ice box that literally cooled by ice. The ice was loaded through exterior doors facing the driveway, then cooled the walk-in as it melted slowly inside a zinc-lined enclosure.




The inside of the walk-in is lined with carerra glass and fitted out with metal rod shelving. This image shows the right hand compartment. The left hand compartment has a window overlooking the driveway. Yes, Daheim has an ice box with a window. We use it as a pantry these days, but I suppose if one ever wanted to load it up with ice again, it would be as operational as it ever was.





The brass label on the walk-in.




Almost 30 years ago, I rescued an enormous antique gas stove from the basement of an old mansion here in Millbrook. It had three ovens, a roll top bread warmer, seven burners, a tall hooded back, and all sorts of exterior gas piping and ceramic handles. After the oven door fell off for the 10th time, I hauled it out to Rhode Island where an old guy who called himself the Stove Doctor was going to restore it. He never did, but instead moved it to some stove pal's place in New Hampshire. The price doubled and I wound up abandoning the whole project. One day, I'll find another old stove and dump the "temporary" range that's been sitting under the hood for the last 10 years.