Back in the early 1970′s when New York was a very different place, members of the Anonymous Art Reclamation Society would remove objects from demolition sites and donate them to museums. At around that same time, however, the salvagers realized that these items had real market value for a certain segment of the public and began turning their passions in to businesses. In addition to Gil Shapiro’s Tribeca-based Urban Archaeology, other big players in the New York market included the Scranton, PA-based Olde Good Things and Harlem mainstay Demolition Depot (both of which we used in our own renovation). The Times doesn’t mention two of our faves in Brooklyn, Williamsburg’s Moon River Chattel and Clinton Hill’s Eddie’s Salvage at 222 Greene Avenue. Any other places in or around the city that you’ve found useful? The ceramic tub at the far right in this photo looks a lot like the one we bought from United House Wrecking for our master bath. Cost us $900, if memory serves.
A Business Built on Salvage [NY Times]
Photos by Donna Alberico for The New York Times