Is This A Secret Passage, A Weird Relic… Or Something Else Entirely?

If you’ve ever encountered an inexplicable wall-mounted ladder in a 1920s house, you’re not alone. Upon encountering such unusual features, one instinctively wonders of their homely function. There is only tree reason to install a permanent ladder straight into a wall. Was it functional, ornament, or something else?

Well, it seems as though there were a few of these ladders. Each served its own purpose depending on the home, location, and time needs. The following are a few of the most likely applications for a wall mounted ladder in 1920s homes.

Attic or Crawl Space Access

Probably the most convenient explanation, these ladders would have been useful implements for accessing attics or crawl spaces. Attics did not tend to be as finished spaces as we are used to today in the 1920s. They stored holiday decorations, old trunks and household basics that weren’t used every day.

Pull-down ladders had not made their way into general use yet. So a simple strong wall-mounted ladder was the space-saving option. This is probably the most immediately useful answer if the ladder goes up to a hatch in the ceiling.

Rooftop or Utility Access

In some houses, particularly in the country or single storey houses with shallow or flat roofs, the ladder served as a means of reaching the roof. This mattered for duties such as cleaning chimneys, examining the roof, or even hanging laundry on rooftop clotheslines. These activities had been routine practice in an age prior to electric dryers in every home.

Or the ladder could have gone up to a water tank, weather vane or other rooftop feature. These needed periodic maintenance.

Fire Escape Route

Fewer still were wall-mounted ladders that doubled as escape ladders. In multi-story homes with few staircases, a permanent ladder might provide a secondary means of escape. It was crucial in the event of a fire or other emergency.

This was usually found in commercial buildings or apartments. However, it sometimes made an appearance in homes as an understandable safety measure.