Here is a photo of what the vent looks like.

-R

Here is a link that might be useful: Kitchen Cabinet Vent

Gosh Ruth...........I've never seen one on the front of a sink cabinet before and I can only guess, since I've lived in old houses most of my life. BTW, your update is very pleasing and it makes the kitchen come back to life.

I'd guess that the under sink cabinet area is traditionally a dank and sometimes damp place and it was simply there for aeration. I'm not so sure that you would necessarily have to replace it with a vent and that leaves what to put in its place up to your imagination.

Generally I have just seen slots cut into the front of the apron in front of the sink. Yours is more decorative than usual. Maybe you could use wall vent or cold air return if you can find one the right size.

Here is a link that might be useful: Decorative Registers

Just get a decorative register of your choice.

If their is enough moisture in the cabinet a vent is required you have some other serious problems.

Any hangers for damp dish towels in the cabinet?

Hi,
Hard to tell from the small picture; here's a couple of leads:
http://tinyurl.com/3hbanbb

http://tinyurl.com/3wjpxw7

http://www.inbrass.co.uk/acatalog/Large_vents_for_gas_boilers.html

Casey

Thanks for the feedback and help. In response to one of the questions above, no there isn't a dampness problem it is just a decorative accent, a case of being mid-century stylish. Thanks for the boat vent idea it may work great since it has a smaller scale.

My grandparents' kitchen has one of those, almost exactly like that. My grandfather put it in the late 40s or early 50s. (Not that that helps YOU exactly, but just validating the notion that they were used.)

Did you try over at the kitchen forum? Or ask Pam of Retro Renovation. She tends to be more MidMod obsessed, but loves a good 50s kitchen too. She may know where to direct you.

Here is a link that might be useful: Contact for Retro Renovation

Some houses I've been in had them but they were much closer to the bottom of cabinet-I asked what they were for & was told so onions & potatoes got air & didn't spoil so fast. I have seen the wood ones with the slits up higher & I think they were for the little towel or dishcloth chrome bar under there. i did a lot of visiting of elderly shut-ins from church- ran into all kinds of strange things.

They may seem strange to you, but certainly just part of everyday life for people my age who remember when there were no paper towels and you did hang your wet kitchen linens on a bar attached to the inside sink cabinet's door, hidden from view. You also sometimes stored your mop buckets under there along and yes......maybe even your spuds and onions, damp cleaning brushes, your dish racks and drainers because most people didn't have dishwashers. It was a 'wet' environment. Like said by another poster, often the vents were just slots in the wood in the really older wooden cabinets. No........it didn't mean you had a 'problem' is was just the way is was then Brickeye. I assumed you were old enough to remember stuff like that but you must not be.

You often even found vented doors in the metal kitchen cabinets popular in the forties...but not a separate vent like that. It may have even been retrofitted and not original with the cabinetry you had.....by then, judging from the style the vents were disappearing because there was the expectation of tightness in homes.

I told you it wasn't 'decoration' it was for aeration and it is for aeration and had a purpose.

Hello, I love the detail of the the vent in front of the kitchen sink, and recently found one at The Hardware Hut at https://www.thehardwarehut.com/catalog-product.php?p_ref=301451. A great price too, at $17.25. Hope this helps.