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September 15, 2009
Safe "Cracker" Recommendation?
Can anyone recommend a local company or craftsman who can open up an old safe and restore or replace the locking mechanism? My husband and I bought our house a few years ago; our purchase included the previous owners' furniture and also included a massive old safe which is secured to the floor in the boiler room in the cellar. It's a combination lock, and I can't see any keyhole. The safe already was in the house when the previous owners bought it in the 1960s and they never opened it. Any recommendations are very much appreciated. Thank you in advance.
Comments
Phil, the owner of Greenwich Locksmiths on 7th Avenue in the Village can do it. His tiny space, I believe, may be the smallest privately owned lot in the city. If you've ever walked by, there are a couple old safes in front on the sidewalk.
Posted by: IronBalls at September 15, 2009 4:48 PM
The locksmith on 9th St between 5th & 6th is pretty good - phone them.
Posted by: Arkady at September 16, 2009 9:12 AM
Thank you both very much!!
Posted by: EllaSpeed at September 16, 2009 10:07 AM
And when you open it, please let us know what was inside!
Posted by: honeycut at September 16, 2009 11:18 AM
Charlie from Greenwich Locksmiths is coming out next week to crack the safe. He and I spoke on the phone this morning: the safe was manufactured by Barnes, a now-defunct company, and is likely about 100 years old! It may have been installed when the house was built in 1907 (it stands on legs that are really firmly affixed the floor), but I think it was put in after the Volstead Act/18th Amendment. Neighborhood folklore has it that our cellar was used as a speakeasy in the 1920s and the design of the cellar seems to support that story: there is an old bar and bar room set up in the front half of the cellar with a little sliding panel and cut-out in the wall between the bar room and the boiler room, and the cut-out is behind the bar right above the safe. Supposedly, these little speakeasies were all over the neighboorhood in the 20's. Anyway, the safe is a nifty-looking old thing, I really hope that it can be repaired, and I am about to scour eBay for parts. I sort of doubt there is anything in the safe, but then again, we have found all sorts of stuff hidden in the house and cellar as we have been renovating and restoring, so who knows! I'll keep you posted, and again, thank you very much for the wonderful recommendation to Greenwich Locksmiths!
Posted by: EllaSpeed at September 18, 2009 12:58 PM
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