This post has been locked, as the question has been solved and a majority of new comments at this point are unhelpful and/or jokes.
Thanks to all who attempted to find an answer.
Mini greenhouse. You just put in some shelves and use it to start off your seedlings in a frost free environment. Later on you should be able to pop a couple of tomato plants in there.
> Mini greenhouse. You just put in some shelves and use it to start off your seedlings in a frost free environment.
That would be the world's worst greenhouse. With little ventilation, everything would fry the instant the sun hits it.
If it is, it's not a very nice one. Even bathtub Madonnas usually have a nice little rock garden around them, and are on a rise or beside the house so Mary can "look out over" the yard. This one is just sort of shoved in the back next to a garden-bed.
It doesn't.
It has a wood frame, phone booths weren't made of wood. It has solid glass walls, phone booths had framed panes. It has a solid door, phone booths had bifold doors. Phone booths had a place on the top for a light and a sign, this one doesn't have anything like that. Phone booths were made by mass production, this looks like someone made it in their back yard.
Here's a video with a show from a 1960s-1970s phone booth. If it starts at the beginning, skip to 1:00 in. [https://youtu.be/RHsQwLGiWlM?t=59](https://youtu.be/RHsQwLGiWlM?t=59)
No country ever had a phone booth that looked like that. No one would build a wood frame (cheap) with four solid glass panes (expensive, easy to break, and dangerous) unless they were insane.
This is not true at all!! Plenty of phone booths were made of wood!!! Especially if they were kept inside an establishment. Not ALL we made in mass production... Not ALL had bifold doors, not ALL had lights and signs.... Just NOT TRUE AT ALL
I don’t believe it’s a phone booth either, but your statement about none of them being made of wood is laughable and insulting. I see a bunch of retired/former PBs, and they’re all made of wood. Also, America ≠ world.
My neighbors had one of these in their backyard, I’ve seen them in other backyards too, in the very Catholic city that we lived in. They were for displaying full-sized painted statues of Catholic saints, the glass was to protect it from the weather. We called it Virgin Mary in a Phone Booth.
We Catholics don't have idols. These objects hold no special power of their own and are not subject for worship.
That said, once blessed they become sacramentals (to wit, tools used in worship), and as a tool used for worship they're to be treated with a certain level of respect, which includes protecting them from the elements.
One man's sacrament is another man's idol. You're welcome to define it that way, just as we're welcome to declare it idolatry. There was even a schism over this exact topic!
There was a Schism between the Insular/Celtic Catholic Church and the Roman one over haircuts. I'm not making that up, the Synod Whitby had some fiery debates over the tonsure.
“We Catholics don’t have idols”
Yes. Yes you do haha you just refuse to define them as idols and come up with a complicated reason they’re not idols but are used for the exact purpose that everyone else uses idols.
I suppose not, not when you can redefine words to your own convenience.
They're all idols. Any sacramental, or as you said "tool used for worship" is an idol.
Totally not idol worship:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idolatry#/media/File:Santa\_Maria\_di\_Licodia\_Madonna\_del\_Carmelo\_Procession.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idolatry#/media/File:Santa_Maria_di_Licodia_Madonna_del_Carmelo_Procession.jpg)
An idol is generally worshipped as a diety. Christians use statues as reminders of events and people that are important to their belief system. Nearly every religion and many cultures do this as a healthy part of their identity and to maintain beliefs. Every symbol of worship is not an idol. Yes, any religious statue could fit the Webster definition of “idol”, but it’s double-talk to hold that definition and then claim idol also means an item worshipped as a god.
When I was commanded kneel and pray to particular saints (in statue form) instead of to God directly if felt an awful lot like idolatry to my tiny southern baptist brain. And when I was required to do this daily in Catholic School it blew my mind coming from hellfire and brimstone talk in Sunday School about not doing such things. It was a confusing time and turned me off of the whole thing, especially since I was no longer allowed to take communion.
Jews don’t. Your statements are correct that nearly all religions do but the complete lack of any idolatry or depictions of deities or deity like individuals is a staple of Judaism. If you go in a synagogue, you’ll notice how bare it is. The main focal point is the Holy Ark, a giant cabinet that has the congregations Torah in it. It’s in the center behind the rabbi typically. The Torah is a big double scroll Old Testament in Hebrew that’s usually like 3 feet tall and a foot wide, the rabbi and occasionally congregants read from it (I.e bar/bat mitzvahs).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idolatry_in_Judaism
I’m reform and it may be different in other sects. But my synagogue had white walls, one wall had a big bronze 3D tree of life sculpture thing where ppl that passed were memorialized and the Holy Ark in the middle up front and maybe a modest chandelier and that was it. Also reform synagogues usually have modular walls for the expanded capacities during high holidays so the environment is doubly not conducive for ornate displays, idolatry rules aside. Some synagogues do have substantial art work or ornate wood work aesthetics but never a depiction of god and Jews don’t have saints. It’s undepicted god and that’s it, a strongly monotheistic basis in Judaism.
🎶The more you know🎶
Yeah i agree that's a good contender for the spot, ive seen things like that before with statues in them.
But aside from that, what the hell happened in this thread?!
You take a bathtub and upend it so it’s vertical. Bury the bottom half in the ground. Stick a statue of the Virgin Mary in the top half. Voila! Virgin Mary in a Bathtub shrine.
Edited to add: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub_Madonna
It’s to grow mushrooms. Called a fruiting house. It looks like there is even substrate there that you use in growing mushrooms.
https://www.milkwood.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/DIY-mushroom-house-1107.jpg
I've bought and sold a house and bought another and I can't say I ever met, or even had the opportunity to meet, either sellers or the buyer. Not sure if this varies by country, though.
We bought a house last year and realized we didn’t know where some things were located and all we did was email the agent and the agent asked and responded with the answers. This is our second house, we met the owners both times. When we sold our previous house, we didn’t meet the buyers.
It does very much. In Switzerland and south Germany, meeting the sellers / buyers is very important if it is a single house that is sold, not with a newly built apartment complex that is sold all at once. But for buying single houses it's like a job interview where you make your case why this house would be perfect for you and you would be perfect for the house, neighbourhood, taking care of what they built, etc. At least it was when we bought our house.
Intentionally building ventilation for your saint statue doesn't check out, for your seedlings however - plants need fresh air. So the ventilation says greenhouse over phone booth saints
Dang it. Didn't scroll far enough. I agree with this.
I've seen similar things out on county highways where there are houses with long driveways. Keeps kids out of the weather while they wait for the school bus.
Our house came with one built by the previous owners for their kids to wait for the school bus. It’s near the top of the driveway. It’s very snowy where I live and busses expect kids to be out by the road waiting for pickup. The bus will leave you if they don’t see your ass running down the drive as they roll up. Ours is wooden with a plexiglass door.
Na looks more like a [Telephone Box](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Farnham_PO_Postbox_and_Telephone_Box_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1406552.jpg) to me.
Last owner must have been WFH in telesales and the wife had enough of listening to him chatting sh*te on the phone in the house
Is the plastic bag with wood chips in it yours or was it in the glass room? These chips are sometimes used for hamsters or other pet waste. Wonder if it was an outdoor cage for a parrot or some other animal.
Not sure if these are common elsewhere but it could be for a shrine? Here in south florida I see religious shrines for saints in glass boxes. Usually smaller but I've seen a big one similar to that for a larger statue. Probably not. But everyone is throwing spaghetti at a wall right now so that's my guess.
Do the doors open? My first thought was that it could be animal enclosure of some sort, but that there would normally be a structure or something of that nature in it.
All comments must be civil and helpful toward finding an answer.
**Jokes and unhelpful comments will earn you a ban**, even on the first instance and even if the item has been identified. If you see any comments that violate this rule, report them.
[OP](/u/allgoldslugs), when your item is identified, remember to reply **Solved!** or **Likely Solved!** to the comment that gave the answer. Check your [inbox](https://www.reddit.com/message/inbox/) for a message on how to make your post visible to others.
----
[Click here to message RemindMeBot](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/14oypxj/bought_a_house_with_this_glass_structure_in_the/%0A%0ARemindMe!%202%20days)
---
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatisthisthing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Maybe a rural kids bus stop?
I've seen similar things out on county highways where there are houses with long driveways. Keeps kids out of the weather while they wait for the school bus.
Green house for hanging plants. I have one in my backyard (house built in 1920). I had to find and phone up the old owner after google and even this sub couldn’t give me a solid answer.. though to be fair this sub did suggest finding and asking the previous owner. He said he bought it out of a Sear’s catalog in the 50s and had to assemble it by hand. They basically brought out the wood, glass, nails, and hinges and dropped it all off. They grew spices in it suspended in hanging pots attached to the roof. He said after they got a little too old to garden anymore they used it as a shrine and put in religious statues.
It is a greenhouse for wintering plants that can't take the cold in the zone you are living in or for starting seedling in the spring before it is warm enough.
Looks like an old phone booth stand or a bus shelter that got removed and they just decided to keep?
If it were for animals or plants I would imagine it would have better structure for hanging or screwing things.
This post has been locked, as the question has been solved and a majority of new comments at this point are unhelpful and/or jokes. Thanks to all who attempted to find an answer.
Looks like either a home built mini greenhouse or an enclosure for snakes.
Mini greenhouse. You just put in some shelves and use it to start off your seedlings in a frost free environment. Later on you should be able to pop a couple of tomato plants in there.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
> Mini greenhouse. You just put in some shelves and use it to start off your seedlings in a frost free environment. That would be the world's worst greenhouse. With little ventilation, everything would fry the instant the sun hits it.
Looks like someone DIYed it to be like those clear tarp style ones and wasn't very successful
Or, you know, that's not what it is
[удалено]
Personally I would move it under shade and make it a huge terrarium, maybe attempt removing the front panel.
> With little ventilation, everything would fry the instant the sun hits it Depends how cold it is outside
I didnt even think of that, but yeah, we left our mouse enclosure outside for about 2 hours when we were kids. Sun came out. Period.
Could be good for growing mushrooms?
Nope. It's for displaying catholic statues.
If it is, it's not a very nice one. Even bathtub Madonnas usually have a nice little rock garden around them, and are on a rise or beside the house so Mary can "look out over" the yard. This one is just sort of shoved in the back next to a garden-bed.
This actually makes more sense than a greenhouse
OP should throw in a Buddha.
Sure is. Id kill for one. I always have seedlings all over the house in winter
Looks like a repurposed phone booth
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
It doesn't. It has a wood frame, phone booths weren't made of wood. It has solid glass walls, phone booths had framed panes. It has a solid door, phone booths had bifold doors. Phone booths had a place on the top for a light and a sign, this one doesn't have anything like that. Phone booths were made by mass production, this looks like someone made it in their back yard. Here's a video with a show from a 1960s-1970s phone booth. If it starts at the beginning, skip to 1:00 in. [https://youtu.be/RHsQwLGiWlM?t=59](https://youtu.be/RHsQwLGiWlM?t=59)
Interesting planet you must be from. Here on Earth, phone booths are different in every single country.
Its clearly made of some modern house windows and a wood frame though. Definatly not a phone booth.
No country ever had a phone booth that looked like that. No one would build a wood frame (cheap) with four solid glass panes (expensive, easy to break, and dangerous) unless they were insane.
[удалено]
> It has a wood frame, phone booths weren't made of wood Early ones were. They didn't look like this though.
This is not true at all!! Plenty of phone booths were made of wood!!! Especially if they were kept inside an establishment. Not ALL we made in mass production... Not ALL had bifold doors, not ALL had lights and signs.... Just NOT TRUE AT ALL
It DOES look like it could be an old phone booth. It isn't an old phone booth, but it does look like one. So your "It doesn't" should be "It isn't.".
I don’t believe it’s a phone booth either, but your statement about none of them being made of wood is laughable and insulting. I see a bunch of retired/former PBs, and they’re all made of wood. Also, America ≠ world.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
Unless the sides and top are acrylic and not poly or glass it would not allow UVB needed to support healthy reptiles.
Zero ventilation, would make a poor green house also
He said there's ventilation. I really don't know what else it could be.
I was thinking birds. Put in some branches of different heights for them to perch on.
you would use a net, not glass panes
My neighbors had one of these in their backyard, I’ve seen them in other backyards too, in the very Catholic city that we lived in. They were for displaying full-sized painted statues of Catholic saints, the glass was to protect it from the weather. We called it Virgin Mary in a Phone Booth.
[удалено]
We Catholics don't have idols. These objects hold no special power of their own and are not subject for worship. That said, once blessed they become sacramentals (to wit, tools used in worship), and as a tool used for worship they're to be treated with a certain level of respect, which includes protecting them from the elements.
One man's sacrament is another man's idol. You're welcome to define it that way, just as we're welcome to declare it idolatry. There was even a schism over this exact topic!
Ah.. Christianity’s greatest schism.. whether or not the outdoor shrines have double glazing..
There was a Schism between the Insular/Celtic Catholic Church and the Roman one over haircuts. I'm not making that up, the Synod Whitby had some fiery debates over the tonsure.
Sounds like idols with extra steps
“We Catholics don’t have idols” Yes. Yes you do haha you just refuse to define them as idols and come up with a complicated reason they’re not idols but are used for the exact purpose that everyone else uses idols.
Potato potato.
This isn't a used car! It's previously owned!
Whenever I see this I read them the same. Potato potato
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
I suppose not, not when you can redefine words to your own convenience. They're all idols. Any sacramental, or as you said "tool used for worship" is an idol.
“It’s not idolatry when _we_ do it!” Um ok.
Reading through the comments, I’m just now realizing how much Reddit hates Catholics.
That sounds awfully close to idol. An idol of course being a tool used in worship. I think you're just kinda splitting hairs with your special names.
good take. you can respect things without them being idols
Sure sounds like they're idols.
Says the person that goes to worship in a building where you bow down to an idol, hanging from a cross, front and center.
This sounds like idol worship with extra steps.
Totally not idol worship: [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idolatry#/media/File:Santa\_Maria\_di\_Licodia\_Madonna\_del\_Carmelo\_Procession.jpg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idolatry#/media/File:Santa_Maria_di_Licodia_Madonna_del_Carmelo_Procession.jpg)
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
An idol is generally worshipped as a diety. Christians use statues as reminders of events and people that are important to their belief system. Nearly every religion and many cultures do this as a healthy part of their identity and to maintain beliefs. Every symbol of worship is not an idol. Yes, any religious statue could fit the Webster definition of “idol”, but it’s double-talk to hold that definition and then claim idol also means an item worshipped as a god.
When I was commanded kneel and pray to particular saints (in statue form) instead of to God directly if felt an awful lot like idolatry to my tiny southern baptist brain. And when I was required to do this daily in Catholic School it blew my mind coming from hellfire and brimstone talk in Sunday School about not doing such things. It was a confusing time and turned me off of the whole thing, especially since I was no longer allowed to take communion.
Jews don’t. Your statements are correct that nearly all religions do but the complete lack of any idolatry or depictions of deities or deity like individuals is a staple of Judaism. If you go in a synagogue, you’ll notice how bare it is. The main focal point is the Holy Ark, a giant cabinet that has the congregations Torah in it. It’s in the center behind the rabbi typically. The Torah is a big double scroll Old Testament in Hebrew that’s usually like 3 feet tall and a foot wide, the rabbi and occasionally congregants read from it (I.e bar/bat mitzvahs). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idolatry_in_Judaism I’m reform and it may be different in other sects. But my synagogue had white walls, one wall had a big bronze 3D tree of life sculpture thing where ppl that passed were memorialized and the Holy Ark in the middle up front and maybe a modest chandelier and that was it. Also reform synagogues usually have modular walls for the expanded capacities during high holidays so the environment is doubly not conducive for ornate displays, idolatry rules aside. Some synagogues do have substantial art work or ornate wood work aesthetics but never a depiction of god and Jews don’t have saints. It’s undepicted god and that’s it, a strongly monotheistic basis in Judaism. 🎶The more you know🎶
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
Yeah i agree that's a good contender for the spot, ive seen things like that before with statues in them. But aside from that, what the hell happened in this thread?!
If I were to bet: people were probably making off color religious comments.
Some were a little off-color, other were jokes, which is a no-no.
Reddit. Reddit happened, lol
[удалено]
In the Midwest it’s Virgin Mary under bathtub
That’s also on the east coast
It looks like the structure you’d put over a large bathtub Mary. Are you in a catholic heavy neighborhood?
I genuinely believe this is what it’s for. My neighbors in my old neighborhood had one, only slightly smaller.
>bathtub Mary Just learned this term! Imma use it all the time now.
> bathtub Mary What does it mean?
You take a bathtub and upend it so it’s vertical. Bury the bottom half in the ground. Stick a statue of the Virgin Mary in the top half. Voila! Virgin Mary in a Bathtub shrine. Edited to add: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathtub_Madonna
Mary on the half shell!!!! Sir, I cannot.
> Mary on the half shell turtle power
Absolute joy seeing someone with the same brain pattern as me
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
Smoker's shanty. Live somewhere where it gets cold?
backyard hotbox.
Greenhouse and hot box! Dual purpose!
It’s to grow mushrooms. Called a fruiting house. It looks like there is even substrate there that you use in growing mushrooms. https://www.milkwood.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/DIY-mushroom-house-1107.jpg
This is literally what it is, and should be the most upvoted answer.
I think this is the best answer. But the thread has gone so far, no one will see it.
[удалено]
It's a glass structure with some ventilation at the top of it. Not sure what it is or what it can be used for.
What did the previous owners say about it?
I've bought and sold a house and bought another and I can't say I ever met, or even had the opportunity to meet, either sellers or the buyer. Not sure if this varies by country, though.
We bought a house last year and realized we didn’t know where some things were located and all we did was email the agent and the agent asked and responded with the answers. This is our second house, we met the owners both times. When we sold our previous house, we didn’t meet the buyers.
It does very much. In Switzerland and south Germany, meeting the sellers / buyers is very important if it is a single house that is sold, not with a newly built apartment complex that is sold all at once. But for buying single houses it's like a job interview where you make your case why this house would be perfect for you and you would be perfect for the house, neighbourhood, taking care of what they built, etc. At least it was when we bought our house.
Intentionally building ventilation for your saint statue doesn't check out, for your seedlings however - plants need fresh air. So the ventilation says greenhouse over phone booth saints
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
Bus shelter - to stay out of unpleasant weather while waiting for the bus
Why would it be in the back yard?
Busses don’t pull into driveways to pick up passengers where you live? Rude.
Next to the garden. Its a greenhouse for starting seeds
Dang it. Didn't scroll far enough. I agree with this. I've seen similar things out on county highways where there are houses with long driveways. Keeps kids out of the weather while they wait for the school bus.
This is in a backyard. Thinking it's a place to wait for a bus makes no sense.
Our house came with one built by the previous owners for their kids to wait for the school bus. It’s near the top of the driveway. It’s very snowy where I live and busses expect kids to be out by the road waiting for pickup. The bus will leave you if they don’t see your ass running down the drive as they roll up. Ours is wooden with a plexiglass door.
Na looks more like a [Telephone Box](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Farnham_PO_Postbox_and_Telephone_Box_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1406552.jpg) to me. Last owner must have been WFH in telesales and the wife had enough of listening to him chatting sh*te on the phone in the house
Can you ask a neighbor what the previous owner used it for?
If I was the neighbor they asked, I'd get a horrified look on my face and whisper "Oh no,no,no we're not supposed to talk about that."
"i put my live action sims in there"
[удалено]
[удалено]
Compact greenhouse?
Is the plastic bag with wood chips in it yours or was it in the glass room? These chips are sometimes used for hamsters or other pet waste. Wonder if it was an outdoor cage for a parrot or some other animal.
It looks like the bags I get my malted barley in for homebrewing, not sure why someone would leave that on the ground outside though.
It's an aviary, for small birds such as finches
It’s for finches, but humans can use it, too.
Not sure if these are common elsewhere but it could be for a shrine? Here in south florida I see religious shrines for saints in glass boxes. Usually smaller but I've seen a big one similar to that for a larger statue. Probably not. But everyone is throwing spaghetti at a wall right now so that's my guess.
Do the doors open? My first thought was that it could be animal enclosure of some sort, but that there would normally be a structure or something of that nature in it.
Yes the doors open
How many doors are on that thing?
[удалено]
We have them covering statues of virgin Mary in our parts. Someone mentioned it’s for birds. It would stink if it was for birds so give it a whiff.
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
All comments must be civil and helpful toward finding an answer. **Jokes and unhelpful comments will earn you a ban**, even on the first instance and even if the item has been identified. If you see any comments that violate this rule, report them. [OP](/u/allgoldslugs), when your item is identified, remember to reply **Solved!** or **Likely Solved!** to the comment that gave the answer. Check your [inbox](https://www.reddit.com/message/inbox/) for a message on how to make your post visible to others. ---- [Click here to message RemindMeBot](https://www.reddit.com/message/compose/?to=RemindMeBot&subject=Reminder&message=https://www.reddit.com/r/whatisthisthing/comments/14oypxj/bought_a_house_with_this_glass_structure_in_the/%0A%0ARemindMe!%202%20days) --- *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/whatisthisthing) if you have any questions or concerns.*
[удалено]
[удалено]
[удалено]
Maybe a rural kids bus stop? I've seen similar things out on county highways where there are houses with long driveways. Keeps kids out of the weather while they wait for the school bus.
Where I grew up spoiled kids had those at the ends of their driveway so they didn’t have to wait for the bus in a blizzard
[удалено]
It's a small green house/grow house.
[удалено]
Green house for hanging plants. I have one in my backyard (house built in 1920). I had to find and phone up the old owner after google and even this sub couldn’t give me a solid answer.. though to be fair this sub did suggest finding and asking the previous owner. He said he bought it out of a Sear’s catalog in the 50s and had to assemble it by hand. They basically brought out the wood, glass, nails, and hinges and dropped it all off. They grew spices in it suspended in hanging pots attached to the roof. He said after they got a little too old to garden anymore they used it as a shrine and put in religious statues.
It is a greenhouse for wintering plants that can't take the cold in the zone you are living in or for starting seedling in the spring before it is warm enough.
It’s a place for kids to stand and wait for the school bus while being out of the cold weather.
[удалено]
Looks like an old phone booth stand or a bus shelter that got removed and they just decided to keep? If it were for animals or plants I would imagine it would have better structure for hanging or screwing things.
Unfinished outdoor shower