‘What Renters Want’ with Jessica Fiur: Apartments with Secrets

When I was younger—probably due to the influence of too many Nancy Drew mysteries—I was convinced there was a secret  passage in my bedroom. Of course, I was living in a relatively new raised ranch-style house, and my room was on the second floor, sharing one wall with my little brother’s room and another with my parents’ master bedroom (I can’t even begin to tell you how much I enjoyed that when I was a teenager). Obviously, there was not even a possibility of a secret passage. But that didn’t stop me from knocking on all the walls to hear if any area sounded hollow, indicating a secret room, or looking to see if there were any rectangular-shaped indents on the floor, indicating a trap door.

Maybe I should have just played outside more.

Anyway, I’ve long since given up on finding a secret passage. I haven’t even tried pulling on the light fixtures in my current apartment to see if a hidden door would swing open. That would just be stupid, right?

Well apparently, not necessarily. According to a recent article in The New York Times, there are several apartments in New York City with secret compartments, passageways and closets. They’re relics of Prohibition—where people needed secret places to stash their booze—or the result of a quirky developer, or left over from when some murderer killed an old man and buried him under the floorboards and was ultimately driven insane by the beating of that infernal heart!

Right. Well, anyway, while not a “must have” of renters, how cool would it be if one of your apartments had something like that? It would certainly stand out in a sea of stainless steel, breakfast bars and on-site parking.

Does your apartment feature any “mysteries” or quirky aspects, or have you ever come across any? Would you be more inclined to rent an apartment if it featured something different like a hidden compartment? And did you ever look for—or find—secret rooms when you were little?

-Jessica Fiur, News Editor