Page 69 - Demo

PHOENIX FALL HOME SPECIALOne Man%u2019s Junk Is Another%u2019s TreasureBY TRACY G A R R ITYThe w hitew ashed facad e of th e H elen H ayes T h e a te r is in th e back collecting du st w ith a w orld-record volum e of doors. P iles of sh u tte rs line th e w alls; porcelain sinks c a rp e t th e floor, an d in th e m id st of all th e a rc h ite c tu ra l tre a su re , Alec M cC urry d ra g s a p u llcart d angerously tipped w ith a w rought iron door. The g ate %u2014 slightly ru sted w ith ag e b u t still sw irled w ith h isto ry %u2014 is loaded onto a pick-up tru c k to enhance a brow nstone in N ew York City, a s a re c y %u00adcled piece of la n d m a rk e d City property.The A rch itectu ral S alvage W arehouse, 337 B erry S t., in W illiam sburg, h a s been open since Ja n u a ry , 1985, offering a tre a su re trove of a rtifa c ts ta k e n from dem olished City buildings. An open house p a rty is planned for O ctober 25, to cele b ra te its success. %u201c We try to sav e a s m a n y a rc h ite c tu ra l elem en ts fro m th e buildings th e City dem olishes a s possible,%u201d sa y s M cC urry, who m a n a g e s th e w arehouse for the C ity%u2019s D e p a rtm e n t of L an d m a rk s P re se rv a tio n . M cC urry spends m o st of his w eek out a t the dem olition sites looking for w rought iron doors, sh u tte rs an d m a rb le firep laces th a t a re w orth salv ag in g . The tre a s u re is brought to th e w arehouse and displayed for the public to paw through on S atu rd ay s. E ven though th e th e a te r facad e is ju st th e re for safekeeping, all of the o th er a rtifa c ts a re yours to c a r t hom e.%u201c We don%u2019t do anything to th e pieces th a t a re brought in h e re ,%u201d he say s. %u201c They a re bought in th e condition we find th em in. B ut you can find som e good things h ere if you%u2019re re sto rin g your hom e.%u201d M cC urry say s the b est finds a re often from the le ast likely places.BROOKLYN HAS TH E BEST%u201cWe g et elem en ts from all five boroughs, but B rooklyn usually give us the g re a te st selectio n ,%u201d he say s, adding th a t som e of the g ra n d e r item s com e from places like B ushw ick and B edford Stuyvesant. %u201c It used to be the expensive a re a to live in and the a rc h ite c tu re is still in ta c t,%u201d he says. So from the b u rn t out w indows they ta k e the sh u tte rs and from the tim egutted in terio rs they ta k e th e m a rb le fireplaces an d bevelled m irro r casings.He points to one such m irro r fram e.%u201c Look a t th e d etail in the wood h e re .%u201d H is fingers outline in tric a te p a tte rn s alm o st entirely obscured by la y e rs of w hite paint. %u201c W hen th is w as in a house th is w as probably p a in ted in gold.%u201d The p y ra m id m irro r w as in th e hallw ay of som e hom e a t theAlec McCurry (above) poses with a wall mirror frame that could go from a demolishedhouse to your house at an inexpensive price. Other treasures at the warehouse are thefacade from the Helen Hayes theater, which isn't for sale, and stone and marble work,which is. (Phoenix/Garrity Photo)tu rn of th e century, and, w ith a m o d e ra te p rice ta g of $500 for a piece th a t sta n d s 10-feet ta ll, will again en hance som eone%u2019s hallw ay.M cC urry, w hose background is in re s to ra %u00adtion an d p reserv atio n , sa y s th a t 95 p ercen t of the c u sto m e rs a re hom eow ners fro m all five boroughs of New York City. (You m u st be a NYC re sid en t to p u rc h a se anything from th e w arehouse.) A nd they com e not only for th e tre a su re s, b u t also the p rices. %u201c We c h a rg e about one q u a rte r to one th ird w hat you%u2019d p ay in a re ta il sto re ,%u201d he say s, adding th a t one can n ev er be su re w h at will be in th e w arehouse a t any one tim e.HAVE WHAT TH EY N E E D%u201c We tr y to have w hat people n e e d ,%u201d he says. %u201c A nd people need different th in g s for th e ir h o m es.%u201d The iron w ork is alw ay s a big seller a s a re m a rb le fireplaces. %u201c We a re really try in g to see w hat sells. You ta k e pot luck. We te ll people who a re looking for som ething specific to check back e v e ry two o r th re e w eeks because we m ay h a v e it.%u201dTwo w ell stocked ite m s a t the m o m en t a re doors a n d sh u tters. S tacks of doors lean a g ain st th e w alls in th e expansive w arehouse in all shapes, sizes and colors. S h u tters a r e piled knee-high on th e floor to be shuffled through. %u201c If m o st people hav e a specific n eed they will find it h ere ev en tu ally,%u201d sa y s M cC urry.The bulk of the a rtifa c ts com e fro m houses built betw een 1850 an d 1910. %u201c We don%u2019t h av e m u ch before th a t, and v e ry little a fte r th a t th a t is being dem olished,%u201d say s M cC urry. %u201c And we look for things th a t a re intact, o r could be re sto re d .%u201d I t%u2019s often McC urry%u2019s eye for a rt th a t keeps som e elem ents fro m ending up in the d u m p ste r a fte r a dem olition project.%u201c I %u2019m out a t a site two o r th ree tim e s a w eek,%u201d h e say s. %u201c And you n ev er know w hat you%u2019ll find until you get th ere. T here is a lot of things w orth saving in buildings th a t a re being d em olished,%u201d he say s. %u201c And if you%u2019re looking fo r som ething th a t will fit th e tim e in w hich y o u r house w as built you h av e to be p e rsiste n t, but eventually w e%u2019ll probably g et it in h e re .%u201dThe A rch itectu ral Salvage W arehouse, 337 B e rry S treet, is open to the public, S a tu rd a y s, 10am-4pm. P a y m e n t is by a New York City check only, w ith two form s of identification. Open house is October 2 5 ,10am-4pm. F o r inform ation call 388-4527.October 9, 1985, PHOENIX, Section II. Page 9