That 1920s house was built for the climate — pre-air conditioning. It was constructed much differently than houses of today.
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About 25 years ago, my sis and I went into a store in a small down in NE Oklahoma. The outside temp was over 100 degrees. Inside the store, it was pleasant. Cool, but not cold, but certainly tolerable. The only cooling feature in the building was a small 6-inch fan clerk/cashier had blowing on the check-out desk.
The building was probably 80 to 100 years old. The walls were thick — 18 to 24 inches and the ceiling was 15 feet or higher.
That is how buildings were built then.
Very good point.
See good architecture can do it. But like you say if its not built to do it, it wont, and thats not how they build them today.