E-Salvage By Penny Goldstein Special to washingtonpost.com Wednesday, March 15, 2000

Salvaged shutters, doorknobs, mantles and more are only a click away. Courtesy of architecturalsalvagevt.com

When you've exhausted local resources, the answer may be to shop in places like Philadelphia or Chicago, where ongoing urban renewal is yielding a huge supply of building artifacts. With the growth of e-commerce, geography is no longer the hindrance it once was for buyers and sellers. The gargoyle of your dreams may be just a click away, provided you're willing to pay the freight charges. Here are a few recommended stops on your Internet shopping trip.

eBay.com

On a recent visit to this mother of all auction sites, 4,517 architectural antiques were listed in "general," "garden" and "hardware" categories. Among the more unusual offerings: rolls of 1940s-vintage wallpaper borders and tulip-shaped roof finials from Belgium. Minimum bids on some items seemed very low, until a full-screen photo revealed wear and tear or questionable age. Keep in mind that buying an architectural antique online is the ultimate buyer-beware situation. Try to get as much information (from the dealer and through photographs) as possible before you buy. Take exact measurements, etc.

Ionic columns sure to grace any living space. Courtesy of architecturalsalvagevt.com

Web Stores

Visiting Web sites of architectural salvage companies is sort of like looking in a store's display window. Most of the companies we found feature just a small fraction of inventory online, often their best or hardest-to-find items. Only a few provide full specs and prices on the site. You'll need to phone the company to make a purchase, which you will want to do anyway, to ask about condition and shipping options.

Jonathan Farrell, manager of Architectural Salvage Warehouse in Burlington, Vt. (architecturalsalvagevt.com), says his firm offers its most unusual and high-end items on the Internet. Recent offerings: a hot-pink pedestal sink for $225 and a 54-inch-diameter sandstone birdbath for $4,500.

architectural-emporium.com posts an online catalogue of restored light fixtures, chandeliers, sconces and other architectural antiques, from its warehouse in Canonsburg, Pa., near Pittsburgh. The site offers free shipping on sconces. Mission as well as arts-and-crafts period artifacts are among the specialties. thebrassknob.com, Washington's own salvage superstore, also advertises select items from its inventory online.

While you're at these sites, it's a good idea to alert companies that you're in the market for a special item. Most salvage Web sites invite you to call in, if not e-mail, your wish list.

Visiting oldegoodthings.com, a salvage company based in New York City and Scranton, Pa., might be the most fun you'll ever have in searching for that special doorknob. The company calls its salvagers "architecturologists," and its site features virtual tours of many "excavation" sites – from the 25-story J.L. Hudson department store in Detroit, to a Brooklyn synagogue. Searching is user-friendly, and visitors have the option of subscribing for e-mail updates on recent finds. An advantage for Washington-area shoppers is that Olde Good Things often exhibits at local antiques shows, including D.C. Big Flea event in Chantilly, and the Sha-Dor shows at the D.C. Armory. Assistant manager Jim Digiacoma says the company attends shows from Maine to Texas, and en route, it's happy to deliver an item to a customer for a nominal fee, or even bring along an item that you think you might want to purchase.

architectural-salvage.com, site of Crescent City Architecturals in New Orleans, and salvageone.com, of Salvage One in Chicago, are other sites worth a look. The Web site of the Old House Journal (oldhousejournal.com) provides links to even more vendors.

Got your own reliable sources for architectural artifacts or any other special sources you'd like to share with us? Send us an e-mail.