Architectural and Altered Antiques
Thank you to Architectural Digest for featuring OGT in their article “A Fascinating Look at the Waldorf Astoria’s Destruction and Rebirth”. We are truly honored to take part in the preserving of rich pieces from famed New York City architecture as well as American history.
Read the article: https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/waldorf-astorias-destruction-rebirth
Here you see our second post in the series Press Releases. Olde Good Things would like to thank the Associated Press for featuring us in their article, “Salvage Salvage shops offer sustainable decor with a story“. This article features the interviews of two dealers and two editors in the architectural salvage industry. Read each of their point of view in the full article.
Shop our Famous Building Artifacts online
Construction Best Practices website has featured OGT in their “Architectural Salvage is a Rising Trend in Residential Construction” article this past July. It featured an interview with the manager of our NYC flagship store Jim DiGiacoma, and an interview with four professional contractors on the benefits of using salvaged materials in their projects.
Read about our past Salvage jobs
Read on how Designers have reused our inventory in the Customer Showcases
Through the years, Olde Good Things has acquired some of our most priceless artifacts from old buildings getting a face lift or being demolished. We hear from time to time that our salvaged inventory is priced on the higher side. The actual salvage act from our team is sometimes overlooked. Our demo team spends long hours and extreme manpower to preserve these items. It takes many unique skills to remove a giant marble mantel or stone frieze from the outside of the building while keeping it intact. It’s not all removing a door from the hinges.
We complied a list of the most valuable salvaged pieces we have online today. Please click into the listings to ask any questions or make an offers on a specific piece.
10. Pair of 3 ft Salvaged Waldorf Conrad Suite Marble & Bronze Urns – $38,000 These are original to the Conrad Suite of the NYC Waldorf Astoria Hotel.
9. 10 ft Bronze Religious Sculpture of Moses Parting the Red Sea – $40,000 Salvaged from a North Bergen, New Jersey synagogue before its demolition.
8. White Red & Yellow Inlaid Marble Mantel from the US Ambassadors Suite of the Waldorf Astoria – $40,000 This mantel is original to Room 42A2 of the US Ambassadors Suite in the Waldorf Astoria hotel.
7. Massive 5 ft Gilt Bronze American Baroque Style Chandelier – $45,000 Huge 18 arm bronze chandelier featuring a crown of four cartouches, each bearing the New York City seal. Salvaged from a lobby of a New York City building.
6. Neoclassical Walnut Panel Room with Grand Carved Mantel – $45,000 Solid walnut panels from the negotiating room of the prominent Williamsburg Savings Bank in Brooklyn, New York.
5. 19th Century Louis XIV Style Gray Marble Mantel – $51,000 This is one of several additions from Danny Alessandro & Edwin Jackson mantel company.
4. Large Bronze Architectural Plaque from New York City – $70,000 From the National American Building, formerly located at 340 Madison Avenue, New York City.
3. 5 ft Silvered Bronze Ten Arm Georgian Caldwell Chandelier – $75,000 Manufactured by EF Caldwell, New York in 1895.
2. 13 ft Monumental Tennessee Marble Mantel – $76,500 Made of 150 pieces of Tennessee marble, this mantel is now reconstructed and on display in our Scranton warehouse.
1. 1964 Solid Cast Bronze 12 ft Mid Century Modern Room Divider – $250,000 This was retrieved from the lobby of the Public Safety Building in Syracuse, NY. Plans were drawn in 1959; construction started July 1962 and was completed in 1964 by King & King Architects.
Olde Good Things is now showcasing at The LA Mart Temporaries Wholesale Market starting Jan 18-21, 2019. Cash & carry.
We have special guest at our booth, Danny the Dinosaur. Stop by and give him a big Rawr!
Located at:
1933 S. Broadway
Los Angeles, CA 90007
Booth:
106 on the first floor
Now a vital part of a door, the doorknob was not patented until 1886 by Osbourne Dorsey. Prior to then, latches and locks with keys were all that kept valuables safe. The 64 years of the Victorian Era saw many decorative creations, and a surprising number of unique doorknobs were manufactured. The modern doorknob may be sleek, but it lacks the personality and bit of history that an antique doorknob brings into the home.
We carry the largest selection of antique Victorian doorknobs online, and we are currently uploading hundreds more of different varieties. To find a doorknob that fits in your home, you can begin by searching by style, finish, and composition on our website.
A few popular styles you can search for are Vernacular, Classic, Romanesque, Italian Renaissance, Greek, Rococo, Art Nouveau. Within each style, you can further specify the type of composition and finish that you’d like.
Doorknobs may also be searched by composition, majority of doorknobs we carry are made of bronze and brass, but we also have antique glass and porcelain mineral doorknobs available in large quantities.
Also available are mortise locks, both antique and modern. Our large selection of antique mortises are not all online yet, so please send a request specifying your needed size and quantity. We also have large rosettes that are paired with Kwiksets, so you can use an antique doorknob even in newer, modern doors.
The knob designs that we offer include: Representational, Asymmetrical, Odd Shaped, Field, Spirals & Swirls, Two-fold, Three-fold, Four-fold, Five-fold, Six-fold, Eight-fold, Radial, Concentric, Oval, & Emblematic/Fraternal.
Once you find a design that suits you, you can search by a group number, which comes from Len Blumin’s system of classification, found at https://www.antiquedoorknobs.us, which is how we categorize all decorative knobs.
Or, you can search by manufacturer, some of our most popular ones are Russell & Erwin Manufacturing Company, Penn Hardware Company, Reading Hardware Company, Branford Lock Works, P & F Corbin Company, and Norwalk Lock Company.
Come see us in Round Top. Lots of great wares including our hand-fabricated tin mirrors, panels, tables plus lots of architectural antiques.
April 1 – Apr 8, 2018
$5 parking
Where:
The Gin at Warrenton
4261 S State Highway 237
Round Top, TX 78954
Our booth is directly in front of the Gin HH-237.
Olde Good Things is proud to announce our newest store location, 2424 Broadway, in Manhattan’s Upper West Side neighborhood. This neighborhood is the perfect location for us, with many unique and inspiring architectural buildings in the area and with a reputation for being one of New York City’s cultural and intellectual hubs with Columbia University, Barnard College and Lincoln Center housed within its borders. Over the years, we’ve had many customers from this area who appreciate antique and architectural antiques and love our line of altered antique furnishings.
We’re just in the process now of stocking the store, which a great variety of antique and industrial lighting, unique home furnishings and of course, our famous hand made tables from reclaimed wood and metal. Since our lease expired at 82nd and Columbus several years back we’ve had a loyal following of UWS customers who have found us at our other locations in the city and we hope will be glad to hear that we’re back in the neighborhood. We’re announcing a “soft opening” now, as we stock the ceiling, floor and shelves with our unique line of “stuff”. We hope to see you soon and will keep you posted on our official grand opening.
The Upper West Side resides between Central Park on the East side, the Hudson River on the west and West 59th Street and West 110th Street on the south and north sides, respectively. An affluent and primarily residential neighborhood, the Upper West Side is also home to such sights as Columbus Circle, Grant’s Tomb, and the Dakota apartment building where John Lennon lived and was tragically killed outside of.
Throughout the 18th and early 19th centuries, the area that would become the Upper West Side contained some of colonial New York’s most ambitious houses and properties, which would eventually be filled in with smaller suburbs. Many properties such as the Apthorp farm and other small villages were stretched along Bloomingdale Road, which today we know of as Broadway (also the street our new store is located on). These farms and villages would eventually be divided into building lots and absorbed into the city by 1868. During the creation and construction of Central Park from the 1850’s to the 1870’s, the Upper West Side became a rough and ragtag collection of squatters, boarding houses and rowdy taverns, eventually seeing a major turnaround in the 1890’s with the construction of the Ninth Avenue elevated train line and the relocation of Columbia University into the area.
The Upper West Side plays home to many unique apartment buildings and structures, especially along the Central Park West area. Buildings such as the English Victorian styled Dakota, the Art Deco Century Apartments and The Majestic, and the Moderne style Normandie all sit on the famous Central Park West. Many other buildings, in a multitude of pre-war styles ranging from Art Nouveau to Beaux-Arts and Belle Époque, sit within the Upper West Side. With the abundance of fascinating architecture in this area, it’s no wonder that many movies and television shows, such as Home Alone 2, Mad Men, 30 Rock and American Psycho have all used the Upper West Side as a backdrop to their stories.
The Olde Good Things Broadway store will feature many of our architectural and antique artifacts, items from our Altered Antiques line, and the unique and one-of-a-kind items that we are known for. If you’re ever in the Upper West Side, stop by and say hello to us in our newest New York City location. We’re sure you’ll be able to find something uniquely New York there.
Update: This location is now closed.
Olde Good Things is pleased to announce, in conjunction with the Wyoming Valley Mall, our first pop-up shop in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Located inside the mall near the food court, the space features a 4000 square foot area where we will be showcasing our architectural artifacts and antiques.
Wilkes-Barre is the perfect place for an Olde Good Things pop-up shop. With it’s 250 year history and a rich anthracite coal heritage, Wilkes-Barre and it’s surrounding areas feature many unique forms of architecture and craftsmanship. Founded as a territory in the late 1760’s, Wilkes-Barre was later named the county seat for the newly formed Luzerne County in the late 1780’s. During the early 19th century, a discovery of anthracite coal in the region created a population boom which earned the city of Wilkes-Barre the nickname “The Diamond City”. Many wealthy coal mine owners built gorgeous houses and mansions in Wilkes-Barre, especially along the city’s Susquehanna river. Throughout the years, several businesses and franchises based themselves out of Wilkes-Barre including Woolworth’s, Stegmaier Brewery, Bell Telephone, HBO and most surprisingly Planters Peanuts. Planters Peanuts was founded in 1906 by two Italian immigrants living in Wilkes-Barre. The Planters Peanuts company would remain in Wilkes-Barre until the early 1960’s.
The Olde Good Things pop-up shop will run for 3 months, until the end of February. We will be showcasing many interesting architectural and antique items for sale including antique furniture, handmade reclaimed wood tables, tin mirrors and wall panels, items from the Waldorf Astoria hotel and antique hardware. Our hours will be Monday, Wednesday, Thursday & Sunday from 11 AM to 7 PM, Tuesday 11 AM to 5 PM and Friday and Saturday from 10 AM 8 PM. The Wyoming Valley Mall, which sits right down the street from the Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza and just a short drive from the Mohegan Sun Casino, holds an abundance of name-brand stores and local shops. If you’re in the area and looking for a unique gift for someone on your Christmas list, come visit us in our pop-up shop near the food court. We’d be glad to help pick out something for that special someone this holiday season.
Store Hours
Mon, Wed, Thurs, Sun – 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Tues – 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Fri, Sat – 10 a.m. – 8 p.m.
While New York City is a place of constant growth and change, it is also a city filled with numerous architectural wonders from the past. Sadly, as many New Yorkers are saying goodbye to some of the city’s fantastic buildings and older architecture, not much is done to save the more interesting aspects from a landfill. That’s why whenever older buildings are being renovated or demolished, the team of architecturologists from Olde Good Things work tirelessly to uncover and preserve these architectural artifacts.
Olde Good Things recently spent time salvaging pieces from several late 19th century buildings in the West Broadway city block in the Tribeca neighborhood, just a short walk from Ground Zero. The area, scheduled to be developed for condominiums and retail space, held multiple unique architectural details.
One of the many reclaimed pieces brought back from this Tribeca neighborhood were an abundance of original ornate ceiling tin. Tin ceilings were popular in businesses and homes until around the beginning of the 20th century and feature intricate stamped designs. These tin ceiling tiles will either be sold individually, or the OGT craftsmen will turn them into beautiful frames and ornate mirrors in a multitude of colors – perfect for any commercial or residential restoration projects.
Another interesting architectural feature recovered from this property were several original wrought iron balconies and fire escapes. Developed in the latter part of the 19th century for New York’s tenement apartments, wrought iron balconies and fire escapes soon found uses in other commercial, residential and industrial buildings. These reclaimed wrought iron balconies and fire escapes would add an unexpected element of classic city chic to any renovation.
Also recovered from our recent trip are several interior and exterior wooden doors. These doors, some of which include the original glass windows or hand-lettered company names, can be incorporated in modern homes to create a unique design style. These doors are also especially popular for use as exterior doors in older buildings.
While preservationists and those who love the “old” New York lament the demolition of these older properties, Olde Good Things is thrilled to be able to help save what we can so others may be able to repurpose or reuse these pieces of architectural history.
Whether you’re interested in one of these great architectural artifacts from this Tribeca neighborhood, or you’re looking for other unique antique features, you’re always welcome at any of our Olde Good Things stores or at our webstore. We’re sure the perfect piece of history awaits you.
View more Architectural Salvage Projects
