I don’t know about you, but I love exploring scrapyards and salvage yards, and a good architectural salvage yard (or a great one, like Ohmega and sister Omega Too, who sell mostly new items, in Berkeley CA) can provide hours of entertainment. Some places specialize in certain items – doorknobs, mantels, bathroom fixtures, clawfoot tubs, windows – and others sell whatever they can save from the wrecker’s ball. These firms are a great and often inexpensive way to find one-of-a-kind items with history and character, and are also a good source of ideas and worth checking out before you begin a remodel project. Outside of the US, the selection is even greater, with companies like the UK’s Salvo offering a huge directory of salvaged materials from all over Europe – they even have a big salvage fair every year. Here are a few of my favorites; please feel free to add other resources to the comments below.
- Bill Raymer’s Restoration Resources in Boston’s South End has sold interior architecture elements, from mantels to fixtures and windows, since 1988.
- Springfield’s ReStore is another firm in Massachussetts, more interested in reuse as environmental philosophy than necessarily in historical conservation.
- Massachussetts really does embrace architectural salvage (probably because there’s so much good stuff to save)! The Building Materials Resource Center is another Boston materials salvage firm, and operates as a non-profit, marketing specifically to low-income customers by giving them steep discounts.
- Architectural Salvage is
in Exeter NH (an hour outside of Boston), and is open weekends only.
The owner, an avid antique collector, left the home building trade
after 20 years and opened AS in 1997. Their large inventory includes lots of doors and hardware, with an emphasis on Victoriana and Colonial Revival items. - New England Demolition & Salvage is located in Wareham, MA, and carries a large selection of clawfoot tubs, stained glass, radiators, mantels, columns and plenty of other architectural antiques.
- Architectural Elements in Tulsa OK carries an enormous range of fixtures, hardware and wood and ceramic items.
- Milwaukee’s Salvage Heaven keep lots of built-ins and other items taken from local homes – many of them Craftsman and Prairie – on hand, and have an enormous inventory that includes everything from bricks and wooden flooring to furnaces, boilers, moulding, tin ceiling, baseboards, doors and iron railings.
- North Shore Architectural Antiques in Two Harbors MN also have a huge stock on-hand, including plenty of tile, ornamental plaster, corbels, stair components and much more.
- Howard Kaplan Antiques in Manhattan specializes in antique lighting and bath fixtures, including tubs, vanities and sinks; they also carry a large stock of antique furniture and decorative items, and a special exclusive Victorianesque pot rack.
- Olde Good Things have showrooms in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Los Angeles and Scranton PA, as well as an online store. Their firm has grown by leaps and bounds since its initial inception working with New York City demolition contractors. They continue to sell at flea markets and antique sales, as well; you can find them in Santa Monica, Long Beach, Pasadena and Alameda, CA, throughout Illinois, Washington DC and Clarendon VA, and all over New York. Their trucks also roam the country, buying and selling all over the place; each truck is a showroom in and of itself – what an operation!
- Louisiana salvage firm Crescent City Architectural has a good stock of doors, ironwork and windows – plenty of items with that New Orleans style.
- Seattle’s Earthwise maintains an enormous warehouse full of weird bits and pieces, from the antique to the modern, including some nice Povey Brothers stained glass windows, mostly salvaged from local churches.
- My favorite, Steve Drobinsky’s Ohmega Salvage in Berkeley CA, has both indoor and outdoor areas full of hundreds (or thousands?) of doors, windows, pavers and brick, tile, tubs, sinks and toilets, antique European and Asian interior architecture, electrical and gas fixtures of all types, church and movie-theater benches, pews and other sorts of seating, and so much more I can’t even begin to list it. They have a cute little movie up on the web which includes a walking tour of their operation.
- Tony’s Architectural Salvage claims to be Southern California’s largest architectural salvage effort. Their shop in Old Town Orange is enormous, with an especially large stock of doors, glass, mantels and hardware – check out the mountain of doorknobs!
- The ReUse People in Alameda CA are both demolition contractors and materials distributors, and maintain a number of warehouses that are open to the public. They do not specialize in antique fixtures, although some gems can be found in their stock; they are more interested in salvage & reuse as part of a larger ecological philosophy.
- Building REsources in San Francisco’s India Basin is a sort of hippy junkyard of a salvage operation, but they do have an excellent stock of bathroom fixtures, tile and other bits and pieces, and you can sometimes find neat stuff hidden behind less beautiful items that fill their lot. The yard is also an ongoing art installation, and neat bits of sculpture litter the space year-round.
- Also in the Bay Area, Caldwell’s carry a pretty wide range of salvaged materials, including quarter-sawn mantels, turn of the century light poles, and elevator doors, all salvaged from old Victorians and commercial buildings in and around San Francisco.
- Another great Berkeley salvage company is Urban Ore (the city’s "major serial material recovery enterprise"), who moved a coupla years ago to a larger space down on Murray Street. They have a very eclectic mix of furniture, fixtures, raw materials, and thrift-store treasures – books and the like (I found a copy of a junior high school yearbook from a school/year I attended, once, signed by childhood friends of mine), although you’ll have to be patient to sort the good from the plain.
Photo by our friend Knautia. Please add other resources that you know of to the comments below!
Juts an FYI — you are mentioned in a page of housing/real estate blogs, but since you have no track back, I am posting here to alert you . . .
Denver has a great architectural salvage yard and showroom called Architectural Artifacts. They have a fantastic inventory of pedestal sinks, mantels, doors, railings, hardware and even hewn timbers.
An organziation listed on your site mentions The Building Materials Resource Center (BMRC). One small correction — it is actually NOT a Co-op. (A building materials Co-op did start the BMRC, though). We are a regular retail establishment. Also we are 1. a non-profit and 2. we target low to moderate income customers by giving these shoppers large discounts.
PS all materials are donated and donors receive tax deductions.
Thanks for spreading the word.
–Beth
I have 2 antique bank teller window doors made of wrought iron and walnut wood to sell that came from an old savings and loan building built in 1913. Do you know a place where I can sell them in the Maryland/Washington DC area?
I would appreciarte a reply. thank you.
For sale: I have 1) a beautiful jade green Chambers stove (circa 1924) in good condition; 2) an ornate wood fireplace mantal (also circa 1924); 3) several concrete birdbaths and planters which need a new home; and numerous 4) old curtains (not sure of the age but they are in good condition).
All items are located in Queens. If you are interested, I would be pleased to e-mail you photos and details (e-mail me at kmosley@nyc.rr.com). You are also welcome to come visit and see the items. We are a 30 minute LIRR ride from Manhattan.
I have several large old stained glass windows removed from a church that burned. Where in the Baltimore-Washington area is there a dealer that can help me sell this for our church?
I am in the Washington DC/Maryland area and can not find a Architectural Salvage yard anywhere around here. I would love to live in New England right about now! There seem to be so many up there and with the age of the homes some gorgeous pieces must be found. I would have a field day!
Any help would be appreciated!
I am looking to create a unique kitchen out of completely reused materials, stainless, wood and alternative substances. My passion is the mid century modern period. If anyone has any tips for me about where to find salvage for this type of material, plans on ripping out a cool mid century kitchen, to replace with a modern one, or anything that might fit, please let me know. I am in New York City. Thanks. I work with one of the most renoun mid century galleries in the city as well so we can barter too.
I am renovating two 1910-era industrial buildings in Aurora, IL. Each one has a large elevator/lift system with complete heavy-duty motor/cable systems, etc. I would like to know if there is a salvage operation out there that would be interetsed in this equipment. Thanks.
Love OMEGA salvage in BERKELEY,CA.!!! I get Christmas and birthday gift certificates here!
Thanks for some great items!!
EHGLASS
I am looking for an archway–maybe with columns for a home that we are building. I would appreciate any leads anyone is able to give me.
Contractor soon to start residential remodel and are looking for a 20’wide x 8′ tall multi paned metal framed window, a structural metal twin landing stair case, two wrought iron with glass panelled front door and two wood carved double wide garage doors.
The Rebuilding Center in Portland, Oregon is AWESOME: rows and rows of old windows and doors, sinks, light fixtures from the 70s, cabinets, wood, occasionally clawfoot tubs … it’s like a giant garage sale with a lot of hidden treasures. Non-profit and good people. http://www.rebuildingcenter.org
I have a historical photo essay web site of buildings lost in New York CIty in the 1970’s, along with photos of salvaged architectural gargoyles and other ornaments.
Also on the site is my web store where I sell hand-cast reproductions of a number of these keystones and other architectural sculptures.
http://www.lostnewyorkcity.com
Looking for archtectural salvage yard owned by ron allen in the DC area. It was featured tv but can’t find an address or location for it. Please help! Thanks
Visit http://www.decodame.com for a ecclectic collection of Architectural Artifacts, Furniture and lighting. Specializing in Art Deco and Art Nouveau period artifacts, salvage and antiques.
We buy and sell!
Hello, I am looking for oak columns for my historic home.
Hello, I am also looking for stick and ball fretwork.
Is the a architectual salvage place in Washington DC area?
Here’s a salvage store in DC: http://www.thebrassknob.com/
We are a store full of architectural salvage, antiques, furniture, home decor and more. Please visit our web site http://www.sproutsfarm.com for a store tour, hours and directions. Nikki has a BA in design and Steve crafts primative furniture. They can help you with remodeling ideas and do the work for you.
I am trying to find a home for a very large set of arched pocket doors with three of the four original milk glass pulls, photos available. Located in Boston. Please let me know if you have any ideas.
Looking for movie theatre salvage-lights, sconces, flourishes-
I am looking for 4-panel doors from 1890-1920, in the southern wv area.
I work for Second Chance, an architectural salvage house in Baltimore. We are located behind Raven’s stadium, with 4 warehouses of great stuff. Please check us out, we are also a non-profit and accept donations! Look us up at http://www.secondchanceinc.org Thanks and look forward to seeing you!
deb.
I am looking for a Spiral Staircase for my home. Preferably 12 to 13 feet tall w/4feet wide steps. Thanks.
Im trying to find a shopfront for a victorian building that was ravaged over the past 20 years. The age of the building is approx 1870 but due to the damage the exact age seems irrelivant. Its about 36ft wide and 8 1/2ft high. These are very innacurate measurements as its now just a sheet of vandalised glass. Any colums or doors that may fit will be considerd. Thanks
We have 2 marble fireplaces in a new home we purchased. Very ornate. They look to be fairly new in excellent condition but just not my style.
Measurements:
Width 80″
Highth 105″
Depth 16″
Does anyone know of any architectural salvage stores/warehouses in the Syracuse, NY area?
If you are looking to sell a particular piece or have questions about salvage in your area, please post to the forum:
http://www.hewnandhammered.com/hewn_and_hammered/forum.html
A good salvage store in New England is Architectural Salvage Warehouse in Burlington, Vermont. Website is greatsalvage.com
looking for terra cotta salvaged from buildings between 1875 and 1930, made by New Jersey Terra Cotta Company
When in Chicago (or via http://www.architecturalartifacts.com) visit: Architectural Artifacts, Inc.
Two big old buildings full of cool stuff. 80,000 square feet! Mantels, lighting, industrial relics, stained glass, doors, furniture, cast/wrought iron, carved stonework, etc.
We are a fairly new architectural salvage business in Albany, NY and carry a variety of decorative elements. Stop by and visit us if you are in the area or visit our website. It’s great to see a blog promoting salvage. If you are from NYC, we are at the Brooklyn Flea twice a month and our schedule is on our website. Fred and Camille from Silver Fox
The best salvage doors, Amighini Architectural salvage & Antiques just open a new warehouse, in Anaheim , CA. check the website for the best architectural salvage door, best quality and price.
Here are the websites: http://www.salvageantiques.com for West or http://www.amighini.net for East coast, also you can find stained glass, wrought iron, balconies, fence and much more.
i just bought a 100 year old bank in central illinois, have several items i would like to sell plus two nice vaults with beautiful doors,, do you know any body that would like these (price is open)
618-838-1444
United House Wrecking in Stamford CT is wonderful and very large.
We have dismantled a 100+ year old factory building in Taunton.
We have beaucoup Southern yellow pine beams in varying lenghts
up to 35′, and as many fir timbers and hard pine tinbers.
Please let me know if your company would be interested. Thanks
(Wood is on the ground)
Jack
508-844-3229
I used to salvage architectural ornaments, keystones gargoyles etc when I was a teen in NYC. I have an extensive web site with some historical photos of long demolished buildings, the ornaments rescued from them etc.
These days, as a previous sculpture scholarship award recipient I recreate and offer casts of my clay models of 19th century gargoyles, keystones and other urban Victorian ornaments as well as Art Deco.
Randall
Yesterday in replacing a water closet for a customer I removed their old watercloset, which has a very period look, estimated Circa 1930’s or early ’40’s.
It is a Standard, One Piece, with a number inside the tank “F2005 8.
Base and lid appear pristeen, if very dirty, with no chips. Wondered if there is any market for it. Needs flapper valve, existing is shredding off black schmutz on the fingers.
Glenn Willis
Woodclaver Construction
CSLB 484658
Woodclaver@aol.com
310-379-2304 = H
310-702-8847 = C
Please let me know if you are interested by phone right away, Wifey says if it isn’t gone by Friday morn when the Garbage man comes, it will be gone then.
Thanks
Wednesday 18 March 2009
Hi-I would like to build a patio pergola using salvaged exterior wood from old New York City buildings. I need 2 x 12’s, 2×6’s, 4×4’s. Anyone know where I can get this material in the New York/Long Island area-at a great price? Thanks so much, Karen
Please visit http://www.amighini.net for architectural salvage and antique doors, iron gates and balconies, tiles, stained glass and much more.
Located in Jersey City, NJ, 5 minutes out of the Holland Tunnel.
Check out Second Chance in Baltimore — they’re awesome
Zane, have you checked Omega and Ohmega in the Berkeley/Oakland area? They often have nice items in that vein.
As a professional sculptor I work exclusively in Victorian, Art Deco and Sullivanesque architectural pieces. I’m also a collector for many years.
I offer casts of figural keystones, figural grotesques, frieze panels, gargoyes and more from my line, I also offer custom sculpture modelling of same.
Randall
UrbanSculptures.com
Joan Perry said…
Hoping to find 12 pane glass storm door. The insert would also accommodate the screen. The door measures about 32X80. The original door was on an almost 100 year old farm/colonial house. Any information would be greatly appreciated.
jpp4053@gmail.com