This may be a response to hot weather rather
than plural marriage. I worked on an 1895 house in Phoenix that had
floor length double hung windows leading from a large front porch to the
parlor and dining room, as part of the original design. I believe Monticello
has such windows as well. True, I have seen this in several old
houses. However these were doors with unique framing around the masonry
openings Are you talking about some sort of molded brick
or stone trim on the exterior, or interior casings, or 2x4 framing inside the
walls? , rather than simple floor-length windows. I can't describe it
other than, "they looked like doors". Were these wooden
sash with panels below and glass lites above the lockrail--essentially a door
installed in a double hung window opening? Also, other adjacent
windows did not have floor-length sills. Alright, for some
reason that we don't know, some windows were long and some short. Are
you sure you can't go back in time and space and get a picture of these
mysterious openings?
And they
each had one front door. What were the ages of their
houses? 1960s (aka "old" according to California suburbanites)
Wait a minute....you're not saying these floor-length
windows were in 1960's houses, are you? Are you saying you're a
California suburbanite, and if so, from where? I'm from Culver
City.