Ours had a small apartment in a half upstairs area, where it was mostly used as a pioneer apartment. When they remodeled they made a gorgeous full one bedroom apartment with full kitchen for the CO to live.
We did have a coffee maker in the women's bathroom, to use at lunchtime, for pioneers. I put it there, and no one complained.
I also donated a child's potty seat for little ones being potty trained. Dave was one of the most important elders there, so I'm sure our name on the items made a difference. Status counted.
My childhood kingdom hall was old-school, had a kitchen. It was a feature that was not uncommon in halls built before the whole quickbuild thing went into effect in the mid-80's.
After everything was standardized (read, "assimilated") the kitchens and windows were viewed as being extraneous.
One Kingdom Hall I went to in Montreal had a kitchen in it. As well as the apartment for the District Overseer or Circuit Overseer. Maybe some of you even went to that K ingdom Hall it was on Louis Herbert where the Society had the French Class for those wanting to pioneer in the province of Quebec.
Another Kingdom Hall I lived in the Apartment upstairs and it was massive, it had a kitchen that was with about 100 cupboards and cabnets. Plus the cielings were 12 feet high. Once upon a time that Kingdom hall was an Anglican Church Retory, then it became a Jewish Synogauge. Then the witnesses bought it and renovated it to look like a regualar KH. You had to walk up 12 steps outside and about 20 inside to get to our apartment. A few times I fell down those stairs. One winter I was on my way to Place Bonnaventure to go to Vic Tanny's Health Salon and as I took my first step out the door of our apt. They were a sheet of ice. and I went flying down them like a rocket ship. I grabbed the wrought iron rail and my arm and shoulder where practically pulled out of its socket. It was brutal. When I did get up I though I am not going back up. I called my husband from Vic Tanny's and asked him to please get the icy snow off the outside stairs. In Montreal most home and duplexes and 4-6 plexes have tons of stairs outside and in. And let me tell you in is very common for one to fall down those stair. Most of them are made of wood and wood with ice just don't work well. I hurt my self so many times on stairs during the time I pioneered in Montreal. More often then not I thought I was climbing walls instead of stairs.
We had a frig and microwave in the basement of our Hall, but not a full-fledged kitchen. Pioneer school was held there and a temporary 'kitchen' was set up.
At times during meetings I'd go to the basement and check the fridge for sodas or something to consume - I'd have done almost anything to save me from the total boredom of the meeting. I'd often drive to the nearest Wendy's during the meeting to alleviate the overpowering boredom.
We have 2no cookers, fridge, freezer, microwave, 21 cuboards- units, worktops ect. pots pans plates knife forks ect ect ect.
WE use the kitchen every week. Make coffee every Sunday after the meetings and there are 3 congs.
Also it is used for social night on various Saturdays, when they get together for varoius meetings sing songs, visiting speacial speakers, then we serve refreshments. Also it is used for after funerals, but not for weddings as there is no booze.
Yes a fully working kitchen it is like a Socail Club!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There was a kitchen and a downstairs two-room apartment in my KH. At first it was occupied by the PO, and then after him a elder who was pioneering, and then after him two sister pioneers.
We'd go down there almost everyday between morning and afternoon field service and have lunch, hang out. It was fun now that I think of it.
I've been in a few KHs, and none of them had kitchens. This was in the NYC/ NewEngland area almost 30 years ago.
But the first JW assembly hall in Greenpoint, NY had an apartment 'way upstairs for the Bethelites who were assigned the primo task of being caretakers, and it had a kitchen for the use of the residents, plus there was a nice sized kitchen in the Assembly Hall basement that was used for food prep back in the days when the WTS was also in the hoagie bizness.