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Architectural and Altered Antiques

5 Most Interesting Items at OGT Union Square

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History of Union Square Park

On July 19, 1839, New York City’s Union Square Park opened to the public. Here’s a fun fact about this upcoming national holiday: on September 5, 1882, Union Square Park played a central role in the first Labor Day celebration, when a crowd of 10,000 labor workers paraded up Broadway and then past reviewing stands at Union Square. As the procession passed the stand, Robert Price of Lonaconing, Maryland said to Richard Griffiths, the General Worthy Foreman of the Knights of Labor, “This is Labor Day in earnest, Uncle Dick.” On June 28, 1894, President Grover Cleveland signed the legislation which made Labor Day a national holiday. In 1997 the U.S. Department of Interior designated Union Square Park as a National Historic Landmark because of its significance in American labor history. So if you’re looking for somewhere to go on September 2, you could always visit right where it all started.

Union Park New York (East side) (NYPL b13476046-EM11347)

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons – Union Park New York (East side) (NYPL b13476046-EM11347).jpg

 

In 1928-29, Union Square was nearly demolished to build the underground course for the subway. Since then, the Square has gone through many renovations. Since 1976, the Union Square Greenmarket has served fresh food and plants to the local community on the north side of the park.

Olde Good Things – Union Square

Around the corner from the Square on 16th St. in May of 2009, Olde Good Things – Union Square opened its doors. It features a main ground floor, mezzanine and a basement full of antique & architectural finds. When you walk in, you will notice its original mosaic tile floor at your feet and a ceiling covered with chandeliers above your head.

 

Throughout its 10 years in business, this location has housed Olde Good Thing’s most valuable, interesting finds. This location is now known for its abundance of antique hardware and very high end lighting. Our current store manager Jim D. has handpicked the Top 5 Most Interesting items that are currently in the store. These items can be viewed online, or if you’re in New York City, stop by for a look in person. Be sure to check out the gallery of newest items NOT online yet at the very bottom. If you have any questions regarding those items, call the store directly at 212-989-8814.

Top 5 Most Interesting Items

 

1. Theater Auditorium Seats from the Great Hall Cooper Union

The Great Hall of The Cooper Union has stood for more than a century as a bastion of free speech and a witness to the flow of American history and ideas. When the hall opened in 1858, more than a year in advance of the completion of the institution, it quickly became a mecca for all interested in serious discussions and debates of the vital issues of the day. View Online

 

2. Handmade Walnut & Black Steel Modern Shelf

Handmade shelving unit by the artisans at Olde Good Things. We built these shelves using sustainable wood materials and angle iron. View Online

 

3. Pair of Antique Iron Elevator Doors

View Online

 

4. Palace Hotel Lobby Crystal & Bronze Empire Style Chandelier

Originally from the Palace Hotel in NYC, this wonderful large gilt bronze and crystal beaded chandelier has been completely restored. View Online

 

5. 1870s Victorian Gilt Wood Figural Mirror with Matching Marble Top Table

View Online

 

New Inventory Not Online

References:

  1. NYC Parks: https://www.nycgovparks.org/parks/union-square-park/history
  2. Wikipedia:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Union_Square,_Manhattan

Rose Hill Mansion in Mount Kisco, NY: What We Rescued

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Rose Hill the Beautiful

The Rose Hill Mansion was located on 98 acres of land at 773 Armonk- New Castle, Mount Kisco, NY. The original Tudor style manor built in 1904 at 10,000 square feet was then later expanded to 70,000 square feet. At the time of demolition, it contained 8 main bedrooms and 12 bathrooms, along with a grand ballroom, reception halls, seminary containing 130 bedrooms & chapel.

The gallery below is Rose Hill in the early 2000’s – photos courtesy of Doug Elliman from its Zillow listing.

Who Lived There?

Best remembered as the lyricist for “Me and My Shadow” and “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” Billy Rose (1899-1966), the famous Broadway impresario, lived here from 1928 till his death. A devastating fire in 1956 destroyed many of the home’s original features, as well as Rose’s art collection, which included several works by his friend Salvador Dali. Over the years, the estate changed hands several times, most recently serving as a seminary for the Legionaries of Christ Church in 1994. Then it was operated as the Our Lady of Mount Kisco Retreat Center before putting the estate up for sale in 2011.

Demolition of Rose Hill

The demolition of Rose Hill was completed as of June 2019. Sadly, we weren’t able to connect with an interested buyer in time to save the beautiful limestone entryway. However, we did salvage some impressive pieces from the interior, which we are now making available for sale in our stores and online. Here are some of the highlights from our Rose Hill salvage project.

Leaded Glass Windows

For many years after Billy Rose’s departure, Rose Hill was occupied by religious institutions, including the Sisters of the Cenacle, the Unification Church, and finally the Legionaries of Christ. Rose Hill’s theological past is captured beautifully in these stained glass windows, painted with excerpts from the Sermon on the Mount.

Mantels

Rose Hill’s main rooms were dominated by immense fireplaces, and OGT workers salvaged two that are beyond extraordinary. The large wood mantel is hand carved, the back of one of the pieces has a penciled list of three names and a note reading “3 good men from Albany NY – June 12 ’05.” The limestone mantel is elaborately carved, with a central coat of arms guarded by mythical beasts.

Crown Molding

Rose Hill’s interior featured some truly remarkable crown molding. Our workers reclaimed over 150 linear feet of oak crown molding and approximately 95 linear feet of cherry crown molding.

 

Woodwork

The woodwork throughout Rose Hill was absolutely phenomenal. Among the many pieces rescued by Olde Good Things were a raised oak paneled room, a solid cherry carved door header, an intricately carved oak newel post, and three massive carved oak ceiling beams.

If you’d like to see more of what we rescued from Rose Hill, click here.

Colonial Eatery Brings Repurposed Architectural Elements

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The Assembly Design Studio designers of Ledger, a local restaurant and bar on New England’s North Shore, envisioned a “rough restoration” of the historic Salem Savings Bank — a place where customers could relax in a contemporary dining space and absorb the colorful history of Salem.

Salem Savings was erected in 1818 and is the second oldest incorporated savings bank in America. Notable bank customers of bygone days include Salem-born Nathaniel Hawthorne, dark romantic author of The Scarlet Letter, and Alexander Graham Bell, who patented the first telephone.

History comes in many flavors at this modern eatery. Regional cuisine is on the menu, inspired by traditional Colonial New England cooking techniques and local fish, meat, and produce. Local fare, cocktails mixed behind a leathered white macaubus granite bar, and fresh seafood from the oyster bar are offered in an authentic vintage industrial atmosphere. The restaurant’s decor was formed from the existing raw materials of the historic building, accentuated with reclaimed materials and distinctive pieces of architectural salvage. In the entry, visitors will walk through a glass and metal vestibule which showcases the original plaster ceiling and a custom 82” chandelier. A bank teller window adds to the ambience as guests enter the dining area, where a repurposed communal white oak table provides seating for 22. A contemporary wall crafted from metal safety box doors lends an industrial edge to the dining area, while a bank vault houses the walk-in refrigerator.

Exposed iron beams and rough brick and wood architecture provided a raw palette for the designers of Ledger to work with. Custom charred wood planking was incorporated into the design, a material reminiscent of Salem’s powerful and dark history which includes the Witch Trials and Great Fire of 1914. Other authentic details include distressed leather barstools, tufted banquettes, tile from the 1930s, and historic bank ledgers used for artistic display.

Ledger’s sophisticated vintage holophane lighting hails from the 1920s era and was supplied by Olde Good Things. The soft ambience of the fixtures offers a stark contrast to the lofty reclaimed wood inset on the ceiling and exposed iron beams. Our industrial Holophane light fixtures are sourced from factories across the Northeast and are a reminder of the Golden Age of “scientific illumination”. OGT’s extensive selection of Holophane fixtures from the 20s and 30s is salvaged and restored in our shop.

Besides their widespread usage in industry, the luminaires are ideal for contemporary commercial usage to illuminate a space without glare or dark spots. They are very popular in auction houses and amongst reclamation connoisseurs for their economical and efficient dispersion of light, along with the historic magnetism of their design.

Most Popular Holophanes

Shop all Holophane online, here.

For questions about our Designer discount, view here.

Salvage Alert: Rescue a Remnant of Rose Hill

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Rose Hill, the New Castle estate of American impresario Billy Rose, is scheduled for demolition within the next week or two. Help us save its magnificent limestone entryway!

Best remembered as the lyricist for “Me and My Shadow” and “It’s Only a Paper Moon,” Billy Rose (1899-1966) the famous Broadway impresario, lived here from 1928 till his death. A devastating fire in 1956 destroyed many of the home’s original features, as well as Rose’s art collection, which included several works by his friend Salvador Dali. Over the years, the 98-acre estate changed hands several times, most recently serving as a seminary for the Legionaries of Christ Church.

It’s now the end of the road for this beautiful home, but with your assistance we can save its elegantly carved main entrance from the landfill. If you are interested in purchasing this unique artifact, or if you know someone who is, please contact us right away. Help us preserve and reuse this piece of historic American architecture!

Reflections of the Past: Mirrors Made from Toy Center Muntz Metal Window Frames

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Every object at Olde Good Things has a story. Sometimes the story is lost, and the object remains silent with mystery, keeping its stories to itself. But sometimes the details survive, and we salvage not only a physical, tangible item but also bits and pieces of its past.

Yellow Metal

This particular story begins all the way back in 1832, in Birmingham, England, when industrialist George Frederick Muntz patented a new brass alloy, a 60/40 mix of copper and zinc with trace amounts of iron. Muntz designed his metal as a cheaper substitute for copper, intending it for use in the sheathing of boats. Like copper, Muntz’s alloy resisted corrosion from salt water and also prevented organisms like barnacles and mollusks from attaching to a ship’s hull – at a fraction of the cost of pure copper. Muntz metal (as it came to be known) became very popular in the shipping industry; the hull of the famed tea clipper Cutty Sark was clad in Muntz metal, and to this day, shipwreck divers continue to recover “Yellow Metal” stamped with Muntz’s name.

Muntz metal cladding on the hull of the Cutty Sark – photo courtesy of Cmglee (CC BY-SA 3.0)

 

Muntz stamp on metal recovered from 19th century shipwreck – photo courtesy of shipwrecks.com

Interest in Muntz metal began to extend into other industries. Designers valued its color, a soft golden yellow that matures into a reddish-brown patina over time. Architects valued the alloy for its malleability and strength, using it in roofing, trim, and paneling. Noting that its anti-fungal properties protect wood just like pure copper, they also used it for door and window frames, which brings us to the next part of our story.

The Toy Center of the World

Fast forward a few decades to May 1, 1909, opening day for the Fifth Avenue Building (200 Fifth Avenue) in New York City. The neighboring Flatiron Building, completed in 1902, had been drawing new activity and commerce into what is now the Ladies’ Mile Historic District.

The Fifth Avenue Building is an 800,000 square foot commercial building, 16 stories high. Designed by architectural firm Maynicke and Franke, the building features a Beaux Arts exterior and an impressive interior courtyard, clad in white terra cotta. When it was first constructed, its ground floor housed storefronts and a bank, and outside was installed an ornate two-faced cast-iron street clock (which still stands today, as a historic landmark). Among the earliest tenants were the Boy Scouts of America, who used the Fifth Avenue Building as their national headquarters from 1910-1927.

Fifth Avenue Building, ca. 1910 (original photo courtesy of Detroit Publishing Company Photograph Collection, Library of Congress, derivative image from Shorpy)

Then came the tumultuous years of World War I. In reaction to the devastation abroad, the United States enacted policies imposing restrictions and tariffs on imported products from Europe. These policies had a massive impact on American manufacturing, including one area that is of particular importance to our story – toys.

Beginning in these post-war years, the Fifth Avenue Building became a hub for the newly expanding American toy industry, earning it a new name – the International Toy Center. Over the next few decades, the Toy Center would house showrooms for dozens of major toy companies like Mattel, Tonka, Kenner, and Hasbro. Each year, the building played host to the American International Toy Fair, which showcased new products (such as, in 1959, Mattel’s new doll named Barbie). By the 1960s, Toy Center leases were restricted to only toy companies.

Toy center of the world, 1958 – image courtesy of American Flyer Displays

Interestingly, though stuffed with the latest toys, the Toy Center shrank from welcoming members of its most prized consumer demographic – children. A 1981 New York Times article warned interested visitors away:

But do not go to the center looking for fun. ”We are not here to entertain kids or the public,” says Morton Lieberman, who has worked in the center for 25 years, and takes a dim view of ”invaders” who ”try and play with everything; we’re here to do business.”

All things end, however, and the Toy Center was no exception. In the early 2000s, toy companies started to terminate their leases. In early 2005, the building was sold to new owners, and by 2007, the last toy tenants had moved out. Renovations in 2008 by STUDIOS Architecture converted the former Toy Center into an office building, known now simply as 200 Fifth Avenue. Major tenants include Tiffany & Co. and Grey Advertising, although appropriately the building also houses a Lego Store.

Copper-Clad Memories

Endings are also beginnings, and the end of the Toy Center offered an opportunity for the rebirth of some of its components. A primary feature of both the building exterior and the interior courtyard is paired fenestration, with sets of windows filling the façade. Also key to the building’s design are the arched windows lining its crown. During the 2008 renovation, all of these windows were replaced, and Olde Good Things moved in to salvage them. How were they clad? Muntz metal, of course.

Salvaged windows from the Toy Center

In order to give these historic Muntz metal windows new life, we are converting them into hand-silvered mirrors. Already, some of the arched windows found a new home behind the bar at Cata, a restaurant on the Lower East Side. Other Toy Center windows have traveled to the homes of customers not only in New York but as far away as Atlanta, Washington, and even Brazil. Their Muntz metal cladding brings a warm glow to any environment, and there are several sizes available to accommodate diverse spaces.

Toy Center crown window mirrors at Cata

Mirror made from a copper window from the Toy Center’s neighbor, the Flatiron Building, displayed in a customer’s apartment

Is your interest piqued? Then perhaps it’s time to call one of our Toy Center Muntz metal mirrors your own. Install it in your living room, sit back, and listen. Let the Muntz metal tell tales of alloy ancestors who sailed the open seas on the bottoms of British boats. Let the windows whisper about their favorite toys. So many stories, all yours for the hearing.

Shop all Toy Center salvaged materials

 

The Lights of Broadway: Salvaging Fixtures from the Palace Theatre

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In the mid-90s, Times Square was undergoing massive redevelopment. Some of our first salvage finds were from well-known Times Square venues, including the Rialto, Lamb, and Ford Theaters.

Now, almost 25 years later, Times Square is undergoing more changes, and Olde Good Things is on the job for another theatre salvage. But this time, rather than raze a building to the ground, developers plan to raise the theatre up!

Playing the Palace

Located in the heart of Times Square at W. 47th Street and Broadway, the Palace Theatre first opened in 1913. Designed by Milwaukee architects Kirchoff and Rose, it is one of the largest theaters on Broadway, with three levels of seating and tiered, parquet-style boxes accommodating over 1,700 patrons. The New York Landmarks Conservancy designated its famous baroque interior as an Interior Landmark in 1987.

The Palace was a vaudeville center from its 1913 opening through the early 1930s; actor Jack Haley called it “the epitome of the more than 15,000 vaudeville theaters in America.” Performers dreamed of “playing the Palace,” and its stage was graced by such legends as Ethel Barrymore, the Marx Brothers, Bob Hope, Mae West, and Fred Astaire.

The Palace Theatre in 1916
Photo courtesy of the New York Public Library

In the 1940s and 1950s, the Palace struggled to find its niche as a venue, serving mostly as a movie house as ticket sales for live performances dwindled. Notably, in 1941 the Palace was the site of the world premiere of Citizen Kane.

In the 1960s, the Palace was renovated and transformed into a full-fledged Broadway theater. Its first show was Sweet Charity, starring Gwen Verdon and choreographed by Bob Fosse (both well-known to viewers of the new FX series Fosse/Verdon). More recently, the Palace housed productions of Beauty and the Beast, Aida, and An American in Paris.

Moving on Up

In 2018, after a final run of SpongeBob SquarePants: The Broadway Musical, the Palace closed down as part of a massive building renovation called TSX Broadway. This unusual project includes plans to raise the Palace interior three stories (nearly 30 feet!), in order to add 10,000 square feet of retail space underneath and to accommodate a new, giant wraparound billboard. The renovation also features a new lobby, dressing rooms, and other amenities for Palace Theatre patrons. Construction is expected to be completed by 2021.

Broadway Lights

The $50 million Palace Theatre rehabilitation includes updates to its famous interior – so not only is the Palace moving up in the world, it’s also getting a facelift! While the theatre’s historic ornamental plasterwork will stay in place, other design elements are being replaced.

Enter Olde Good Things to salvage some of the historic treasures from this old landmark. We were able to reclaim much of the vintage and antique lighting, including exquisite crystal chandeliers and Art Deco style flush and semi-flush mount fixtures. Some of these fixtures appear to date from the 1965 renovation.

Longing to bask in the lights of Broadway? Take a look at just a few examples online and come see many more in our New York locations. We promise the ghosts of the Palace Theatre won’t follow you home.

Historic Limestone Friezes from Philadelphia Civic Center

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In 1931, the Philadelphia Civic Center became the center of the arts as well as a gathering place for conventions, concerts, and sporting events. It included a museum that showcased the different trade and commerce practices from around the world, a concert venue, and a convention center. The Civic Center was influenced by the Art Deco movement; it featured several enormous and beautifully carved limestone friezes.

Philadelphia Convention Hall or Civic Center as seen prior to demolition

Philadelphia Convention Hall or Civic Center as seen prior to demolition

One of these wonderfully crafted friezes was dedicated to music. One of the functions of the Philadelphia Civic Center was a concert venue. The Beatles and Rolling Stones brought in thousands of music lovers to the center as one of the U.S. tours stop with their tickets selling out within hours. It also hosted the Jackson 5 in 1970 and the Grateful Dead in 1974 and again in 1984 as part of its music history. It because musically obsolete when another concert venue was built nearby in the 1960s. This frieze was one of the first to sell once Olde Good Things reclaimed it from the facade of Convention Hall.

The 7 piece music Frieze was carefully removed

The 7 piece music Frieze was carefully removed

Part of the history of the Philadelphia Civic Center was that it was once a museum that was home to several different items from around the world.  It held textiles, ceremonial masks and robes from around Africa, archaeological items from areas of the world such as Egypt, as well as showcased handmade fishing nets, and other anthropologically significant pieces from places such as the Philippines, China, and South America. This is one of the reasons that quite a few of the friezes included in the creation of the Civic Center were of the different continents of the world. It was to be a cultural center as well as a meeting place.

View Online

 

A few of the elaborate friezes incorporated aspects of transportation, engineering, and manufacturing. The main mode of transportation when this building was built was trains and ships which transported goods around the world. It was these modes of transportation that brought the goods that were created in a factory and then taken to ports all around the world to be sold or used to make other goods.

 

In 2005, when the Philadelphia Civic Center was demolished, Olde Good Things reclaimed the detailed architectural pieces. Their restoration team took great care in the removal of each of the colossal pieces, including around ornamental frieze of the Philadelphia seal.

The Philadelphia seal before removalEach piece was carefully removed and stored at our Scranton warehouse.

Each piece was carefully removed from the face of the building using lifts to guide them down to the ground to be transported to the Olde Good Things warehouse to be stored. These spectacular specimens of art, music, and commercial history are currently available for purchase and can be viewed on the Olde Good Things website.

 

Read more about this Salvage Job

Philadelphia Civic Center Frieze Finds a New Home in Bayonne New Jersey

Salvaged Antique Door Hardware from Philadelphia Civic Center

Made From Scratch and Olde Good Things

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The rich beauty of reclaimed wood, the timeless appeal of historical metalwork, and the vivid diversity of reclaimed glass are not things that can be easily replicated. Anyone who is building and desires the timeless look of these architectural elements knows how cost inhibitive it is to reproduce them.  Why not simply incorporate these same beautiful items from yesteryear rather than try and reproduce them?  And, yes, it is possible to design from scratch using reclaimed items!

Customer Showcase Tudor Style Home

One of our customers restored her stunning Tudor home with reclaimed materials carefully curated from Olde Good Things, designing the house from the ground up over a period of three years. Many of the items were purchased from OGT’s web store and Ebay after adoption from the Constable Estate in Westchester and a townhouse on East 10th Street, in Greenwich Village, NYC.

Current trends in home decor lean towards the modern rustic and industrial, often with a stunning combination of the two elements. Shabby chic is another popular look that hearkens back to the days of custom craftsmanship. Still, building with architectural relics is not a part of the mainstream, despite the fact that using reclaimed materials for building and restoration projects is advantageous in so many ways.

Architects and designers are turning to reclaimed materials more and more to meet the demand for sustainable architecture. Reclaimed wood and other architectural salvage pieces are an integral part of green building techniques. Re-purposed materials lessen the need for new materials to be harvested or mined and transported, and elements rescued from historic buildings scheduled for demolition keeps these treasures out of the waste cycle, where they would eventually be relegated to a landfill.

Reclaimed tiles make a lovely vintage backsplash and a one-of-a-kind focal point for the fireplace.  Originally from an Buenos Aires hacienda, they found new life in this Tudor Home.  Also from a similar home in Argentina, an entire tile wall was re-used as wainscotting to decorate a parlor room. The stained glass windows from OGT add splendor to the magnificent arches which originally decorated a Gothic style room from the lavish Constable Estate in NY State. A classic parquet floor, detailed door surrounds, gothic woodwork, and reclaimed tile result in a home like no other. Even the bannisters and exterior staircase were construed of antique iron.  The stairs and landing were designed from old heat registers.

Although using reclaimed materials can present certain logistical obstacles in a throwaway culture, many visionaries realize the inherent value in preserving and re-purposing. Reclaimed materials give a distinctive edge to any home or business with a custom style that can’t be found in new items.

We hope this example of design savvy using antique architectural items is inspirational to many who are undertaking a sustainable design project.  We have many customers who when they see these details in the rough can visualize a re-use for them.  Yet there are many who need inspiration.  We think this project serves that very purpose.

View the Tile Fireplace Surround current inventory

View the Paneled Rooms & Wainscoting current inventory

 

Famous Building Artifacts at Olde Good Things

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One of the best parts of being the number one architectural salvage company is the country is getting to preserve items of interest from famous buildings all over the United States. These pieces provide our employees and our customers with a very real sense of our nation’s history, and having the privilege of storing and/or restoring these amazing pieces is something we truly appreciate. To that end, we’d like to take the time to share with some of our online customers some of the pieces we’ve come into contact with here at Olde Good Things over the years.


This gorgeous ceramic tile mantel was salvaged from the famous Jonsonia Iver Johnson building in Fitchburg, MA. The building was damaged by fire in 2011, but as you can see, this piece remains in good condition. We were able to salvage two of these ceramic mantles from the building. The richly colored tiles are beautifully crackled, and the mantles feature some amazingly beautiful detail, which you can see in the second picture above. These pieces were manufactured by the Hartford Faience Co., and can be found below.

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Iver Johnson Building Ceramic Tile Mantel
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Iver Johnson Building Ceramic Tile Mantel
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This beautiful architectural plaque was once a part of the National American Building, which was located on New York City’s Madison Avenue. The building was designed by renowned architect Joseph H. Freedlander, who firmly believed that architecture created for business and industry could still be beautiful. The plaque is made of heavy bronze, and has a gorgeous patina. The carving on the plaque is incredibly detailed – from the delicately draped clothing worn by the figures to the rope edging surrounding the piece. This lovely plaque would make an excellent addition to any home or building.

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Large Bronze Architectural Plaque from New York City
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The Pennsylvania Civic Center was erected in 1929 and was used for many years to house events such as sporting matches and political conventions. Our trip to the building before it’s demolition allowed us to salvage a number of terra cotta and limestone friezes, as shown below. These pieces formerly hung on the wall of the building, and each of these pieces was one of a kind. They would make a unique decorative addition to your home or office, whether used individually, or hung as a set. You can see them, as well as a number of other items from the building in our inventory below.

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Original Carved Africa Frieze from Philadelphia Civic Center
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Original Australia Frieze from Philadelphia Civic Center

Original Australia Frieze from Philadelphia Civic Center
View Online

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South America Limestone Frieze from Philadelphia Civic Center
View Online

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Philadelphia Civic Center Engineering & Manufacturing Frieze
View Online

 

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Philadelphia Civic Center Commerce Limestone Frieze
View Online

 

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Philadelphia Civic Center Construction Limestone Frieze
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An item salvaged from one of our country’s famous buildings can not only provide you with a unique and interesting decorative piece, it can also give your home or office a real feeling of history. These pieces are ones that will make excellent conversation starters, and really add to the style and tone that you are trying to create in the space where you live your life. If you’d like to take a look at more of our famous architectural salvage, contact us for more information on any piece featured in this article.

All inventory salvaged from Philadelphia Civic Center
View all the Famous Building Artifacts

Altered Antiques: The missing link with boat anchor chain

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ANCHOR CHAIN TABLES

In Scranton we sit on two warehouses piled high with vintage glass, picturesque sheets of tin, salvaged wood paneling, doors, glass, and all the marble you could imagine. It’s a designer’s paradise.

In those warehouses we take these raw materials and spin them into altered antiques, pieces that pay homage to the riches of yesterday, but also respect the modernity of today.

Salvaged-boat-chain-pile.jpg

Say hello to this pile of chain

Ten years ago, we met a retired Staten Island Ferry headed to the junkyard. Most of the ship had already been cut down for scrap, but we were able to salvage two truckloads of anchor and chain. That week we hauled it to the warehouse.

Why? We love the cool solidarity of metal, the gradients and color of wizened wrought iron, the flecks of original paint and this chain in particular. Called bar chain, each link has a bar running down the center, which keeps the chain from tangling as it drops anchor.

Showcasing these links, tables immediately emerged. Round, square and rectangular with tops of marble, glass, or reclaimed pine, these pieces became dining tables, coffee tables, end tables, display tables for boutiques (Tommy Hilfiger commissioned 200), and even breakfast nook eateries.

We had to get more chain! We found more in Florida, salvaging from a boat in the Miami River, links were four inches wide, six inches long and five-eighths of an inch thick. In all, the trucks carried 80,000 pounds of bar chain to Scranton.

Stocked back up, soon lamps followed tables. Four feet standing lamps or sold in sets of two to cap off a chesterfield, they are the perfect salute to old becoming new.

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Pair of Antique Anchor Chain Table Lamps

We are still designing new chain link pieces. Send us your ideas and we will design a piece. Lastly, send us a pic of the piece in your home! We found this chain in a shipyard. To see it re-purposed and posing happily in your living room?! Well, THAT is the missing link.

Antique chain table with pine top

View this particular chain table at our Bowery NYC store.

View the Chain Table category
View all the Altered Antiques

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