Browse Items (9 total)

Dailey family picture taken in front of a fireplace. Fireplaces in eighteenth and nineteenth century homes tend to be shallow to provide heat into the rooms. Today fireplaces in homes are popular for pleasure and are not needed for heat. Today's…

Irl and Dorothy Martin with their children, "Huck" (Harold) and Mary Barbara (Mrs. Billy Bittle) in front of the fireplace.

Possibly the parlor of Mr. Charles Herrick at 420 South Third Street. The fireplace screen protects the room from flying embers. The ceiling light is powered by gas. The paintings at each side of the fireplace are hanging from a picture rail, which…

Possibly a dining room at the Gust Nordstrom home, 218 West Street. An animal skin rug is on the floor in front of the fireplace. As heating technology changed fireplaces became nostalgic and a focus point of the room. As a focus point, the…

A parlor with a fireplace. By the 1840s fireplaces were no longer the main heating source for the house. Fireplaces became a decorative focal point in the room. The curtain at the doorway could be closed to provide some privacy when visiting with…

Possibly the home of Mr. Charles Herrick at 420 South Third Street. The parlor features a highly decorative fireplace. The mirror over the fireplace helps to make the room seem larger.

Living room furnishings indicate use of this room for visiting with guests. A radio console popular in the 1930s is by the window next to the door. Radios of this time were in cabinets so large that they were considered decorative furniture as well…

The Spafford House at 501 North Prospect, Rockford. Above the sitting room fireplace is a portrait of Mrs. Jessie Spafford.

Dining room in the home of Alexander and Venetia R. Walker at 410 South Third Street. The highly decorative fireplace indicates that this is a public space. The cabinets store and display serving dishes.