I used to live in a house that had very shallow closets because of that very reason. Apparently, houses were taxed for each room in the house and room was considered any space in which a man could stand and turn completely around with the closed. The closets in the house where I lived were probably 5 feet wide, but they were only eight inches deep. There was no way I or my husband or anyone other than a small child could stand sideways inside the closed and close the door. But again, I got that information from someone else and I don't know where she got it. Hope this helps. Heidi Carroll >Subject: historic house closet taxes >To: [log in to unmask] > >I need some help tracking down the origin of a historic house docent myth (or if it isn't a myth I need to know that, too). I work at The Moody Mansion in Galveston, TX and we occasionally hear that closets were not built into old houses because they were taxed. I sent a survey to quite a number of museums, but I didn't contact everyone. I've got wonderful replies and would like to have more. Please let me hear any tales you have to tell. > ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com