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Olde Good Things

Architectural and Altered Antiques

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.

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.

Industrial Window Finds Its Way Home

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We love seeing how our customers put their Olde Good Things to use – especially when that use is creative and unexpected.

This 15-light steel window with pebbled glass was salvaged from a commercial building, and we imagined it finding new life in an industrial space. Customer Kris Rodammer, a creative director and brand design consultant in Boston, had a cozier image in mind – he installed it as an interior window between the kitchen and hallway in his Brookline home.

Interior windows brighten a space, and the pebbled glass in this particular window invites soft, textured light into the hallway while creating a feeling of openness in the kitchen. Six of the lights pivot on a center hinge, allowing control over the flow of sound and air by opening and closing the window. The clean lines are a perfect complement to the classic design of Rodammer’s home.

Feeling inspired? Shop our reclaimed industrial windows and bring home one of your own.

Bright Lights & Vibrant Colors of Antique Stained Glass

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History of Antique Stained Glass

Stained glass windows are both stunning architectural features and awe-inspiring works of art. Traditionally made by adding metallic salts to molten glass to create colors and then blown or pressed into panels or shapes, these brilliantly colored windows can feature biblical scenes, animals and plants, landscape scenes, historical figures or abstract shapes depending on its intended use.

Bright Lights & Vibrant Colors of Antique Stained Glass

 

Throughout its thousand-year history, the term “stained glass” has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches, mosques and other significant buildings (such as government buildings) while a similar style, referred to as leadlight, was used primarily in homes and businesses. The major difference between stained glass and leadlight is largely in the manufacturing process and the more simplistic designs featured in leadlight. Stained glass windows, such as those commonly found in churches, usually include design elements that have been painted onto the glass and fired in a kiln before assembly. The extra time and cost involved in painting and firing the glass usually prevented its use in home or business architecture. Unlike stained glass windows which are traditionally pictorial or of elaborate design, traditional leadlight windows are generally non-pictorial, containing geometric designs and plant motifs.

Stained glass, as an art form, reached its height in the Middle Ages when it became a major pictorial form used to illustrate the stories of the Bible to a largely illiterate population, where it also became known as the Poor Man’s Bible. The use of stained glass continued through the years, gaining and losing popularity as styles changed. It regained popularity again in the late 1800’s, during the Victorian period, as there was a renewed interest in Gothic style architecture. The Arts and Crafts Movement also helped revive interest in stained glass, mostly through its ideas of traditional craftsmanship and the use of medieval, romantic, or folk styles of decoration. Artists such as Louis Comfort Tiffany (of Tiffany & Co.) developed new styles and techniques of stained glass making, elevating the art form to new heights. Today, both leadlight and stained glass are used in commercial and residential properties, helping to create intricately lit rooms with vibrant colors.

Salvaging Antique Stained Glass

Olde Good Things has always enjoyed salvaging stained glass whenever the opportunity arises. These stained glass pieces have come from churches, businesses and homes and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Fanlights, windows, doors with stained glass and more are available in the vast stained glass area at the warehouse at Olde Good Things. We also inquired an extensive stock of large single pieces of replacement antique stained glass, in every color you can think of. (please view this video for more information). These pieces are perfect for any stained glass repair craftsmen or artist, wholesale pricing is available.  Please inquire for more details. Our stained glass pieces sell incredibly quick, so be sure to stop by our Scranton, Pennsylvania location or view the Antique Stained Glass currently online.

 

 

How we silver antique reclaimed glass

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Click to watch the video

Over the years here at Olde Good Things, we mastered our unique silvering glass technique. All the glass we use is 80-100 years old. Get a glimpse on how our workers in the glass shop use this technique on a piece of reclaimed clear glass.

For more information call 888-233-9678 or visit www.oldegoodglass.com. Request a silvered glass sample light, medium & dark at http://oldegoodglass.com/contact-us/.

Pieces of History — Reclaimed Glass Tiles from the Rialto Theatre at Times Square NYC

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When Mayor Guiliani rehabbed the Times Square neighborhood, the architecturologists from Olde Good Things were fortunate to be able to salvage architectural artifacts from all four corners of Broadway and 42nd Street. Although OGT had been salvaging in New York for years, this was our first opportunity to be a part of something really massive — reclaiming pieces of the past from a landmark like Times Square that sees 26 million visitors from all over the world every year.

One of the reclaimed treasures we brought home from this expedition was a haul of textured glass tile from the former Rialto Theatre. Nicknamed the original “Temple of the Motion Picture” and the “Shrine of Music and the Allied Arts”, the original Rialto opened in 1916 on the corner of Broadway and West 42nd Street. It premiered releases by Paramount Pictures until the building was demolished and replaced by a smaller structure in 1935.

This is the building where the “Howdy Doody Show” was filmed during the 1950s. The TV studio at the theater also saw the filming of talk shows led by Montel Williams and Geraldo Rivera. The structure was always a reflection of the Times Square neighborhood, through good times and bad, before being replaced by the 30-story Reuters building.

It is from this Art Deco style Rialto that OGT rescued the beautiful glass tiles with a textured finish. These classic tiles are 6 in. x 6 in. raised glass squares, priced each, and include the original certificate of authenticity signed by the architecturologist who salvaged the pieces.

These reclaimed glass tiles are an elegant and beautiful souvenir of the legendary Times Square and Art Deco craftsmanship. Create your own Rialto wall of glass tile, or use smaller collections to accentuate a classic decor. The pieces would make a wonderful, stain-free backsplash for the kitchen or bathtub area, or to give a hint of elegance to the swimming pool. Glass tiles are also spectacular for framing a fireplace. When you take home even one, it is like taking home a historical piece of Times Square.

Purchase your very own piece of Times Square.

View other Famous Building Artifacts for sale.

An Iconic Stained Glass Window from JFK International Airport

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The architecturologists at Olde Good Things were able to carefully preserve a true landmark of history when they captured the famous stained glass window panels from JFK International Airport’s Terminal 8. The terminal, fondly known as “The Cathedral”, was demolished in 2008 to be replaced by a modern steel-and-glass structure next door. A discussion ensued over the preservation of the original stained glass window unveiled in 1960. The New York Times article can be viewed here.

The 317-foot by 23-foot translucent mosaic panel facade was designed by Robert Sowers, who is considered by some to be the most iconic stained glass artist of the Modern Age. The piece was composed of over 30,000 flash glass tiles in vibrant red, sapphire, and white. Sowers was one of the first artists to prominently feature stained glass in commercial architecture.

After searching for prospective new owners for the piece, American Airlines contracted with Olde Good Things to dismantle the panels and make them available for public resale. Other panels are housed in the Madison Museum of Fine Art, the C.R. Smith Museum in Dallas, and the Cradle of Aviation Museum in Garden City, New York.

Terminal 8’s artistically and historically significant stained glass window panels can now be found among the other treasures of architectural salvage at Olde Good Things.

 

The OGT architecturologists carefully remove the glass from this iconic mosaic window.

The beginning of the extraction… and the ending…

 

Startling ruby red, blazing citrine orange, and deep cobalt are among the hues that grace the stained glass window. The light shining through from behind is extraordinary!

 

Our customers have used this exclusive reclaimed glass for a number of different applications, including privacy windows, far end and coffee table surfaces, outdoor entrance gates, or combined in order to create partition walls and room dividers.

The bold colors of many of the panels make them ideal for contemporary environments, which include homes, offices and commercial spaces. Regardless of where you choose to put them, they’ll definitely create a statement.

Of course, the ultimate positioning is an area where light can shine through, to maximize the amount of color that passes through the windows. A number of our clients have incorporated American Airlines’ stained glass indoors and outdoors.

The JFK Terminal 8 glass can be purchased from OGT as a stunning glass wall panel, as smaller panels in a beautiful custom frame, or as souvenir panels measuring 8 in. x 6.5 in., 8 in. x 8 in., 10 in. x 10 in., or 12 in. x 12 in.. The panels pictured below are samples of the glass and may or may not be still available. Please inquire and if they are not available we will try and find you something in a similar color scheme.  Each panel has some form of damage. We can repair the damages in our warehouse glass shop.  Call 888 233 9678 for more details.

 

This picture depicts the entire window and which stained glass panels are still available for resale.  All the panels marked with an “x” have already been sold.

Learn more about this salvage project, visit here.
Learn more about other types of salvaged glass available, visit here.

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