Funny!

http://www.rickross.com/groups/understanding.html

Rick Ross -- JC Cult Expert -- Ckick Here

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thats just truly bizarre

Olde Good Things is run by a religious cult called the Church of Bible Understanding (COBU). Search google and you'll find some interesting articles about how they've been able to dominate the architectural salvage business in this part of the country because their labor is more or less free.

Architectural salvage - Jersey City & Beyond -- Recovered architectural pieces get new purpose

Thursday, May 17, 2007
By VIRGINIA ROHAN
The Record

Architectural salvage -- it's so much more hot and romantic than it sounds.

Though "salvage" calls to mind images of rusted deep-sea relics or junkyards guarded by mean-looking mutts, architectural salvage encompasses beautiful old elements: ornately carved marble or wood fireplace mantels, fountains, statuary, vintage tiles, stained glass, Victorian gingerbread, roof finials, lighting, hardware, gargoyles, wrought-iron balconies or fences -- sometimes entire wood-paneled rooms.

"People are looking for the kind of good craftsmanship and solid materials that are commonly found in older buildings, and also, for ways to give some personality to their own homes, even if those homes are not particularly old," says Dwight Young, senior communications associate for the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Sara Weiss of Olde Good Things in Manhattan says salvage has become especially popular in the past few years. Builders also "really love to incorporate the old architectural elements into new construction to give it more character," she says. "They don't make things like they used to."

And yet, America didn't always appreciate its treasures. Forty years ago, when the old Penn Station, a neoclassical wonder designed by McKim, Mead & White, was demolished, haulers dumped priceless architectural treasures in the Meadowlands. Some were retrieved, but many were lost.

Today, preservationists are concerned that architectural salvage may be a little too valued.

"We don't want good, sound, older buildings to turn into nothing more than shopping centers for old bits and pieces. We still think people ought to think first about renovating or restoring a historic building," Young says. "But if that's just not possible, then it certainly makes more sense to save and make good use of significant elements of that building, rather than just haul them off to the landfill."

Many rescued elements are not cheap -- there is, after all, a finite supply -- but then, neither are new materials. And while interest in architectural salvage predates the green movement, Young says, it is "very much in line with green principles."

Here are five places where you can see or buy some amazing salvaged treasures.

# Amighini Architectural, 246 Beacon Ave., Jersey City; 201-222-6367 or amighini.net

Mariano Molteni, 32, who owns the business with three Amighini brothers, says their most popular item is doors -- massive single- and double-entry doors that bear witness to a statelier time.

The company, begun 60 years ago by the Amighinis' grandparents and based in Jersey City since 2001, also has wrought-iron gates and balconies, fireplaces, stained-glass windows and (truly breathtaking) ceiling domes, most from homes in Europe and South America.

# Olde Good Things, 124 W. 24th St., New York, N.Y.; 212-989-8401 or oldegoodthings.com

From its humble beginnings as part of Manhattan's now-defunct 26th Street flea market, Olde Good Things has grown to include this Chelsea store as well as Chicago and Los Angeles shops and an 85,000-square-foot warehouse in Scranton, Pa.

"We have everything architectural you could think of," Weiss says, adding that most of it is American -- a lot from New York City. "We salvage antique and architectural artifacts from many turn-of-the-century and pre-war buildings slated for demolition" -- or renovation. The current inventory includes 100 marble mantels from the old Plaza Hotel ($7,500 and up).

Last week, the Web site listed such old good things as a Majolica tile fireplace surround ($850) and an 82-inch-tall copper finial from an East Orange home ($10,500).

# The Demolition Depot, 216 E. 125th St., New York, N.Y.; 212-860-1138 or demolitiondepot .com

In March, The New Yorker's "Talk of the Town" column called owner Evan Blum "the city's recycler-in-chief."

His place, near the Triboro Bridge, has enough architectural treasures to fill a four-story building and a backyard garden.

# Recycling the Past, 381 N. Main St., Barnegat; 609-660-9790 or recyclingthepast.com

Talk about eclectic. Strolling the two-acre grounds of this family-owned business can be a dizzying journey from the sublime (massive grand fountains, statues and gates) to the mundane (vintage bathtubs and sinks).

Among the items featured online last week: A terra cotta lion head with surround from a New Jersey industrial building ($10,000); a large early 20th century chestnut pantry rescued from a Philadelphia school for boys (no price listed); and, in the "recycled creations" category, a coffee table made from an iron bank grate ($395).

# United House Wrecking, 535 Hope St., Stamford, Conn.; 203-348-5371 or unitedhousewreck ing.com

"Strictly a salvage yard" in its early days (the 1950s), this family-owned business has evolved to include furnishings and fine (and custom) reproductions, as well as architectural relics.

"We still maintain a nice inventory of antique mantels, doors, newel posts and stained-glass windows," co-owner Mario Lodato says.

United House Wrecking, which also has a large outdoor garden-statuary area on its 2?-acre site, has a design center to help people incorporate their treasures.

E-mail: rohan@northjersey.com