No secrets or deals here, but all good resources nonetheless.

Olde Good Things
124 W. 24th St.
(212) 989-8401
Good for: Affordable hardware
This 10,000-square-foot Chelsea salvage hot spot has everything and the kitchen sink. That’s because this outfit works aggressively in the removal and preservation of architectural elements from all sorts of residential and commercial New York City sites. You can also check out Olde Good Things at local flea markets. You can find the schedule at their Web site, which also offers more than 2,000 items. Salvage newbies might want to begin with old hardware, lighting, plumbing fixtures, tin mirrors or stained glass. If you’ve got the SUV, you can haul away columns, decorative iron, bronze and brass castings, and terra-cotta and building stones. The Chelsea shop offers hot deals on salvage from residential and commercial sites all over New York city.

Architectural Antiques
715 N. Second St., Philadelphia
(215) 922-3669
Good for: Antique bars and pub bars from American saloons, Irish pubs and French cafes
Feeling royal? This 30,000-square-foot, two-story warehouse offers an impressive collection of regularly reclaimed objects from French and Belgian castles and churches, American mansions, and saloons and pubs worldwide. Special collections dating from the late 1700s through the 1930s include antique mantels, doors, ornate armoires, street lamps, leaded and beveled glass, mirrors, bars, signs, urns and paneling. Their collection includes items from bars and French castles.

Urban Archaeology
143 Franklin St.
(212) 431-4646
Good for: High-end salvage
This salvage veteran has moved heavily into repros, but this is the place for salvage if you’ve got big bucks. Need a statue from the Place de la Concorde in Paris? Price tag is a mere $1 million. Looking for a glazed terra-cotta clock from a historical train station or stone from MoMA’s sculpture garden? This is your stop. On the other hand, you can pick up $4 subway tiles or lighting from $200 to $2,000. This major salvage player offers everything from affordable subway tiles to one-of-a-kind, million-dollar pieces.

Demolition Depot
216 E. 125th St.
(212) 860-1138
Good for: More than 3,000 pieces of plumbing
This colossal Harlem operation – it’s the size of 10 football fields – is a favorite haunt for decorators and designers. Spread over 12 floors, it offers vintage plumbing, doors, fireplaces, lighting and garden ornaments. Looking for Frank Lloyd Wright windows or safes from the Biltmore Hotel? Stop on by. This place is a treasure trove for architects working on residential and commercial projects. This massive Harlem destination offers 12 floors of vintage treasures.

Treasure Trove [NY Post]


What's Your Take? Leave a Comment

  1. Hello Roz. I followedd your lead to Circa Antiques’ salvage of the house. The house is 978 Park Place, just a few houses down the street from mine (see “A Jewel in the Crown” in Brownstoner’s “My Brownstone” section”. It’s amazing. It’s as if the house was untouched in a hundred years. While it’s a shame it had to be removed, at least it’s all together. Circa wants to sell it all as one lot, hopefully to someone completely renovating a similar house. It was almost certainly the same builder as my house, as many of the detail are identical. The photos posted are a library of details missing from my house. Newel post finials, bin pulls, fretwork, original window and built-ins, etc.

    The guy was kind enough to take me to the storage place and show me the stuff even though I told him I wasn’t in the market for the lot. But he was so fascinated by the fact that I recognized the details that he agreed to take me down and look. All the mantels but one are in pristine condition.

    Thanks for posting.

  2. That phillymag profile of COBU is frightening. I often shopped at the Atlantic Ave Olde Good Things — even though it was over-priced. They spoke quite openly about being a Christian group and organizing air drops of bulk food to rural, deeply impoverished areas of Haiti but the article paints quite a different picture. Btw, another local source for architectural salvage is Circa Antiques, also on Atlantic. They recently removed pretty much all the interior features of a Crown Heights brownstone. Apparently the building is being converted into a half-way house and, in order to qualify for federal funds, the architect had to have someone strip out all the original details to make way for steel doors etc etc. Check it out at http://www.circaantiquesltd.com.