Our house has a large double sided fireplace right in the middle of it. It has a vent above the doors on either side to circulate the hot air, which is not all that effective. I wondered if it would help to have air forced across the firebox and decided to try an experiment. I rigged up a window fan to blow air into the vent in one room.
It actually does help. It makes the living room, on the other side, nice and toasty.
Texas? Years and decades ago, we lived down there. It’s the only place I’ve seen a double sided fireplace.
I’ve seen some townhouses near me with a double sided fireplace in the exterior wall! They can enjoy their fireplace from the living room or the deck. Very odd.
I have seen many in New England. One was open to a living room on one side and a study on the other.
This makes a lot more sense. In the house I saw one in the fireplace was smack in the middle of a large living room.
Close. Arkansas. They’re probably pretty rare which is understandable. It would be very expensive to build one like it today not to mention It’s a huge waste of space and is not an efficient heat source. I enjoy a nice fireplace but I would never install one of these.
The only advantage is that it’s big enough for me to climb inside the firebox which is handy for chimney repairs.
I’ve seen them in PA and Colorado, in ski houses.
It’s a 60’s architectural feature.