12. Pocket Doors: Victorian Climate Control

There are five doorways in the Mansion with pocket doors. All are located on the first floor. It's unusual for pocket doors to still be functional after a hundred years. Those in mansion are, although they've been renovated twice to keep them working smoothly. It's also surprising that they survived the years of IUK and those times when the mansion was abandoned. Pocket doors can be a space saving feature, but their greatest value may have been as heat regulators. Since the rooms were heated separately, with no central heating system or thermostats, and since older, uninsulated houses with single-pane windows were usually drafty, the doors helped keep the house comfortable. Some of the pocket doors in the Seiberling were built using different types of wood on the opposing sides, i.e. with wood matching the trim and decor of the room they face. The pocket door between the Library and the Music Room is the largest in the Mansion.