Our coal furnace was smack dab in the middle of the basement. It was there when we bought the house. There were two coal bins across from it. We only used one. Our furnace looked like a big monster with all the arms extending out from it. We had the old square, heavy metal floor vents. Our cat slept on the living room vent all winter.
We had the big monster, too. We eventually went to oil and then gas. Our vents were on the wall. We had a BIG cold air return in the entrance area. House was built circa 1904...milk box and all. Life was pretty simple back then. You didn’t need a phone attached to your head back then...