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Before I tell you about the wonders of Demolition Depot, let me give you a little backstory for how I discovered this uptown gem.
At Curio Design, we work closely with the Lower East Side Tenement Museum on the design of their communications materials. They've given us their extensive photography collection, which includes historical images of the Lower East Side from the past 200 years, documentation of the restoration efforts of a tenement building, and images of artifacts and architectural details that have been uncovered in the process. Working with the Museum has rekindled my obsession with NYC history, to say the least.
The Tenement photo files needed some organization; so we asked our intern Lea to help us with the task. As she was going through a series of restoration images, she asked us if we had ever been to Demolition Depot. My ears perked up just at the sound of the name. As a student at FIT, one of her professors happens to be the sister of the store's owner. She told us that you could find many of the artifacts and architectural details similar to those in the Tenement images at Demolition Depot. I had to check it out!
Demolition Depot is known for architectural reclamations — rescuing artifacts and architectural details from soon-to-be demolished buildings in and around the city. Their four-story building is packed to the gills with rescued artifacts. On the first and second floors, you'll find lighting fixtures, mirrors, mantels, windows, and other artifacts, such as doorknobs, hinges, grills and stained glass. (I personally loved the old elevator call buttons I found on the first floor.) The third floor is dedicated to doors, including a variety of styles ranging from French Provencal to Art Deco. If you're looking for bathroom fixtures, the fourth floor is your best bet. The backyard garden is covered with exterior architectural details and artifacts, such as gargoyles, tiles, fountains, wrought-iron gates, benches, and even old MTA subway signs.
If you are involved in a building or restoration project, they can work closely with you to buy or sell artifacts. They make it easy to navigate through their ever-changing inventory. Unlike many stores where pricing is a mystery, Demolition tags each item with a number that can then be used to check for the prices on communal computers.
I love combining the old with the new, especially when it comes to decorating, so I was happy to find out that Demolition Depot owner Evan Blum, along with his sister Leslie, wrote a book about the subject called Irreplaceable Artifacts: Decorating the Home with Architectural Ornament. This beautifully photographed book showcases wonderful examples of how to integrate ornaments and architectural details rescued from 19th- and early 20th-century buildings into a more contemporary setting.
From the Amazon.com editorial review:
"...The joy of using these things, as we learn from this wonderful book, is threefold: they enhance our homes; they reduce the need to expend new resources and energy, since they recycle preexisting items; and they help to preserve our magnificent architectural heritage."
Check out their website to view the store's inventory and be the first to find out about new arrivals from their latest reclamations: www.demolitiondepot.com
Demolition Depot
216 East 125th Street at 2nd Ave.
4/5/6 train to the 125th Street
Upon moving to Long Island City, Queens (LIC for short) in early 2007, I've had the opportunity to explore many interesting historic buildings, museums, parks, mom and pop shops and restaurants in this predominantly industrial neighborhood. The area has become a hotbed for artists who are taking advantage of the old warehouses and factory buildings that have been turned into studios. It's a quiet area that's slowly becoming "the next cool 'hood" as residential and commercial development increases.
A few notable places that get the White Elephant thumbs up, include:
Just Things
This small secondhand thrift store is a true treasure located on Vernon Blvd. at 47th Rd. The small two-room store is filled to the brim with dust-covered, kitschy objects, dishes and glassware, costume jewelry and an array of clothing spanning many decades. Every time I pop in, there are new relics added to the collection, so multiple visits are required for all you thrift store lovers. Open Weds-Sat from noon-5:00pm.
Brooks 1890 Restaurant
First opened in 1890 as a saloon, Brooks is one of the oldest restaurants in Queens, and still retains its original decor, including a mahogany bar. They are known mostly for their steak and seafood fare; but I actually recommend their burgers. Brooks is located next to the Court House Square F subway stop on Jackson Ave.
Socrates Sculpture Park
Before becoming a neighborhood park and a place for artists to exhibit innovative, large-scale sculptures for the public in 1986, the area was an abandoned landfill. A walk through the park is a must for anyone looking for a quick retreat from the city. And just down the way, you'll find the always inspirational Noguchi Museum, with it's wonderful outdoor sculpture garden. Socrates Sculpture Park is located along the East River at the intersection of Broadway and Vernon Blvd. and is open all year round from 10:00am to sunset.
The Pepsi Sign
Facing Manhattan along the East River in Hunter's Point (the southernmost area of LIC), the Pepsi-Cola sign has become a local icon in the community. With it's Art Deco, cursive letters, the neon sign originally stood atop the Pepsi bottling plant, which opened in 1938 and remained in operation until 1998, when it was ultimately relocated. The sign was moved to it's current location after the community encouraged local government and developers to preserve the sign as an historical landmark. (photo: www.queenswest.com)
For more information about Long Island City, visit:
Forgotten NY Neighborhoods
LIC NYC
After my trip to the Antiques Garage in Chelsea, I took the subway down to SoHo to check out the small antiques store B4 It Was Cool (www.b4itwascool.com). It took me a minute to figure out the name of the store, but eventually found a business card taped to the middle of the graffiti-covered door. Lack of signage aside, you can't miss this place when you're walking down Houston Street. The door is usually always open, and your eye will go right to the dense sea of lighting fixtures packed into the tiny space. I've walked past the storefront many times over the years, and today was the first day I actually went in to see what kind of goodies they had for sale.
Known mostly for their collection of early to mid-20th century lighting, the store is packed not only with amazing floor and ceiling lights, but also other unique industrial objects – drafting stools, chairs, various appliances, and scientific models and tools.
B4 It Was Cool is located at 89 E. Houston St, just east of Broadway on the south side of the street.
Since I can remember, my uncle Onofre has been making art. He's quite modest, in fact, despite his genius. For the past several years, his yard has become an ever-changing gallery of found objects combined in unexpected ways. Located in the suburbs just north of downtown Cincinnati, Onofre has created a whole new world that stands out among the normalcy of the somewhat conservative neighborhood. From a garden of bowling balls to a collection of tea kettles hanging from the long branches a large oak tree, his unexpected placement and unique juxtaposition of found objects have truly become an inspiration.
As an avid and dedicated thrift store and flea market shopper, he has collected a multitude of ordinary objects over the years. Sometimes when he finds that one special object, he knows exactly where it's going to be placed in the yard. Other times, his purchases remain piled up inside the house, waiting for a spark of inspiration.
Below are images taken of his yard during my trip to Cincinnati last summer.
Of all the antique bottles, the Codd bottle in my opinion is the most interesting. In 1886, British inventor Hiram J. Codd designed a unique closure for the bottle using a glass ball and a rubber ring. The bottles were filled upside down, and the carbonated liquid would force the glass ball against the rubber ring, creating a closure. To open the bottle, you would simply press down on the glass ball, which would fall into the bottle's signature "chamber" and remain there for the duration of consumption. These nifty bottles are hard to come by since many of them were destroyed by children who broke the bottles to get to the "marble" inside.
I recently found a Japanese store in NYC that sells flavored waters in a contemporary plastic version of the Codd bottle. So maybe the Codd bottle is making a comeback!
Fun Fact: The word "Pop" was derived from the sound the glass ball made when pressed down into the chamber.
Before I tell you about the wonders of Demolition Depot, let me give you a little backstory for how I discovered this uptown gem.
Demolition Depot is known for architectural reclamations — rescuing artifacts and architectural details from soon-to-be demolished buildings in and around the city. Their four-story building is packed to the gills with rescued artifacts. On the first and second floors, you'll find lighting fixtures, mirrors, mantels, windows, and other artifacts, such as doorknobs, hinges, grills and stained glass. (I personally loved the old elevator call buttons I found on the first floor.) The third floor is dedicated to doors, including a variety of styles ranging from French Provencal to Art Deco. If you're looking for bathroom fixtures, the fourth floor is your best bet. The backyard garden is covered with exterior architectural details and artifacts, such as gargoyles, tiles, fountains, wrought-iron gates, benches, and even old MTA subway signs.
If you are involved in a building or restoration project, they can work closely with you to buy or sell artifacts. They make it easy to navigate through their ever-changing inventory. Unlike many stores where pricing is a mystery, Demolition tags each item with a number that can then be used to check for the prices on communal computers.
Check out their website to view the store's inventory and be the first to find out about new arrivals from their latest reclamations: www.demolitiondepot.com
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