dbigtex56 Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 Since we all (presumably) share an interest in architecture, surely we find that we collect things - all sorts of things - that reflect this interest. My collection started when I was four years old, and a neighbor gave me a piggy bank. It was a scale model of the Rochester Savings Bank (in plastic), with a slot in the roof to accept coins. It was a faithful scale model of the McKim, Mead and White designed building which still stands in Rochester, NY. It has an opening in the back through which the collected coins can be emptied, and I used to peer through it and imagine how impressive it must be to be inside such a grand building. What a great solution to an awkward building site! I'm grateful that it's still standing. Another piece of architectural history that I possess is the original promotional poster for Transco Tower. In 1982 I met a guy who had one (his had been signed by both Johnson and Burgee) and I wanted it, badly. I managed to talk a public relations person at the rental office to give me one, and it's proudly framed in my living room. The poster shows Transco reflecting the sunset against a deep blue sky with spotlights crossing it - very 30's graphic references. It's not for sale. I also possess a terracotta bracket from one of the buildings on the Strand in Galveston, TX. A friend was helping to rennovate a building there, and snagged it from the scrap heap. At one time I knew from which building it came; it'll come back to me... There's also those cast-iron New Orleans decorative scrolls which came from who knows where. The person who gave them to me didn't offer any explaination. I wonder where he obtained them, and whether there's a way to return them to their proper place. So...what kind of 'junk' have you collected? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
midtown 4.2 Posted May 1, 2005 Share Posted May 1, 2005 My only "architectural" collectible is a brick from the infamous Hanoi Hilton. I was traveling around SE Asia back in the late 90 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torvald Posted May 14, 2005 Share Posted May 14, 2005 i collect rice hotel stuff & houston mod architecture postcards. the odd thing that i collect (and i guess this is more historical than architectural) would be old local banking stuff like mod office things or adding machines, as this maybe odd, they are beautifully well made and designed very damn well (maybe it is architectural in a way then?). i also like photographing certain local buildings and in a way that's also collecting.of course, if anyone out there has some fancy vintage officetype stuff they are interested in parting with... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jmancuso Posted May 14, 2005 Share Posted May 14, 2005 i ahve about 2 dozen or so miniature skyscarpers and buildings. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest danax Posted May 14, 2005 Share Posted May 14, 2005 I've been "collecting" old house salvage for a few years now. It started when I moved to my present house a few years ago and noticed that people in my neighborhood were throwing away lots of original, vintage art deco sinks, toilets, doors, cabinets, etc. as they "remuddled" their homes. I was somewhat angry that they were doing this so I was really rescueing these old materials. I ended up selling and trading some of them but I still have a 1500 sq. ft. attic about 25% full of this stuff. Some of it I'll use for my own home, which is a 1908 late Victorian that had some remodeling in the 30s, and I'm hoping to be able to use a lot of it if when I build a garage apartment in the art deco style. I have this idea to build it almost entirely out of salvaged materials so I have a detailed list which I am slowly checking off. I also was by the proposed Target site on Sawyer the other day and picked up a couple of interesting old bricks with "Houston" and "Lucas" stamped on them from a scrap pile of a demolished home. I've got a small collection of old bricks, including some from an old chimney in my house that I found collapsed inside one of my walls and I plan on making a small backyard patio from them.By the way, The Emporium, an established architectural salvage yard on Westheimer and ? Dunvale I think, is relocating to Pasadena, CA and everything there is 1/2 off until they close their doors withing the next couple of weeks. They said there is more of a supply of stuff out there, the owner also lives there, and that they've had a harder time buying here partly due to competition from Historic Houston, which is a non-profit that gives suppliers a receipt for tax writeoffs, which ends up being quite a bit more money than what they would receive from selling the materials. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted May 14, 2005 Share Posted May 14, 2005 i collect rice hotel stuff & houston mod architecture postcards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bachanon Posted May 15, 2005 Share Posted May 15, 2005 i have some sort of invitation or announcement for the rice hotel designed like an oversized big dimension dollar bill. we came across it going through my grandmother's things after she died. i'm not sure if is for the original grand opening or an event there. i'll have to find it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UrbaNerd Posted May 15, 2005 Share Posted May 15, 2005 I just have a bunch of architectural books archiving various works of various arch. firms, and a few collected bricks on my bookshelf. I'll probably start collecting some more soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torvald Posted May 16, 2005 Share Posted May 16, 2005 I know these were considered pretty nice hotels at the time, but by today's standards the decoration in both looks pretty cheesy.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>have all sorts of silly things from the rice: bars of soap, matchbooks, some postcards, keys, blotter, etc. always liked it. i was photographing it for a college assignment and ended up shooting an unplanned series through it's renovation (of the outside only). it had some really great textures. my professor thought it was pretty lame of me to pick an abandoned building for the assignment so i did not score well.anyhow, i took a friend on the railsystem yesterday and noticed the plaster under the covered veranda of the rice is coming down (as in the original photos i took). what a shame as the new plaster hasn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 The uppper floors just have the apartments and are not architecturally original anyway. You can go into the Rice lobby, which is nice, and they will probably let you on the second floor where the ballroom and meeting rooms are. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
torvald Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 I've been "collecting" old house salvage for a few years now.I've got a small collection of old bricks, including some from an old chimney in my house that I found collapsed inside one of my walls and I plan on making a small backyard patio from them.<{POST_SNAPBACK}>i only have done this once, there was a raggedy little duplex house off of hawthorne that was for twice for sale, the most recent time it was on the market for quite a while. i wasn't in a place to purchase it and it was in need of too much work. the next time i saw the property it was a flat mound of dirt. a friend picked up a small piece of it and said, "here's your house." i picked up some tiny pieces: brick, wood floor, bathroom tile, teacup handle. i had photographed it a while back so i am thinking of doing some sort of mini installation with it -- a fictional history of the house, something like that -- ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted July 8, 2005 Share Posted July 8, 2005 i have been collecting letterhead, matchbooks, ashtrays and postcards for a while now - my latest kick is china restaurant-ware plates (mainly houston hotels). i also have a couple bricks/stones from old crappy buildings, and the top of a lightpost from montrose by the plaza. i also have a brochure from the holiday inn (days inn, etc) downtown from the mid eighties. it used to look quite nice (and the pictures of people made me remember shoulderpads! haha). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pineda Posted July 9, 2005 Share Posted July 9, 2005 By the way, The Emporium, an established architectural salvage yard on Westheimer and ? Dunvale I think, is relocating to Pasadena, CA and everything there is 1/2 off until they close their doors withing the next couple of weeks. Thanks for the tip! That's such a great place, it's sad to see them leave. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nmainguy Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 I just found this thread so I don't know if anyone has any intrest but I collect souvenier buildings. I have over 50 and am always looking for more. If anyone has any sources, I'd appriciate hearing from you. BTW, I think my favorite is a cast iron coin bank of the Heights State Bank on the corner of Washington and Yale. I think I bought it for a quarter at a garage sale. I'll try to post a pic sometime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 i keep adding "junk/treasure" to my collection...i am cataloging my postcards (along with photos and hopefully a searchable integration on my site) but the bulkier things like railroad track pieces, ashtrays, lightposts, signs, etc are starting to take over my home! in the last few months i got a really neat brochure of the Western Skies Motels in houston advertising the Miss America Pageants held there and their infamous Bali Hai Club. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TJones Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 I used to collect things from the casinos in Las Vegas, most everything has a picture of the actual building on it. I have come to find out there is a large group of similar collectors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Montrose1100 Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 (edited) Yeah, I have like a million minatures of famous buildings around the world... From the Air Force Academy Chapel in Colorado Springs, to the Pia. D Allala in Madrid. I collected them since I was like 8.I also have a stone from the Cologne Cathedral (Koln Dom). Thats the only "real life" thing I guess. And a nut/bolt from Alcatraz.*Also, I have alot of postcards. My Grandma has alot from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. She use to live in Las Palmas, and her father moved to Houston in the 40s. He worked at the Rice Hotel, as a bell boy I think (Or maybe Bar Tender...) And He use to send her postcards of Houston and the Rice Hotel it self. Edited November 16, 2005 by Montrose1100 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoAtomic Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 OK, don't laugh ... I've developed an, err, affinity for colored bath fixtures, appliances and lighting from 50's houses. Also Formica ... As of last night, I have: - 3 GE electric ovens (copper, aqua and sand pink) - 2 GE well-type dishwashers (copper and sand pink) - 2 stainless Thermador cooktops with griddle in the middle - 1 stainless Thermador double electric oven - 1 GE cooktop (sand pink) - 4 American Std. commodes (apple green, pale wedgewood blue, sand pink and pale pink) - 1 American Std. double kitchen sink (sand pink) - misc. colored tile ripped out of bathrooms of this era ... in my garage. All dated prior to 1961. And I'm anticipating more of these type items in the next few months. But the prize is in my front driveway (only because I unloaded it at 9:00 pm last night and it wouldn't fit in said garage) - two complete 1959 vintage site-built white/brown squiggles Formica countertop assemblies from a custom house in Tanglewood, complete with attached backsplashes and hand fit stainless edge mouldings. One is 17 FEET long (est. weight of 200+ lbs.) and was hanging 3 feet out of the large UHaul I rented to get this stuff home. No, I am not a dealer. I actually hope to reuse some of this in my rather plain ranch house, if I ever have the time to install it. It's kind of my warped dream to 'build' my own custom version of a 50's house with all the used stuff. I think it's kind of cool - the house would have the history of many other houses wrapped together in one place. But after the ordeal getting the counters home last night, I am wondering if I need to find a new hobby ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdude Posted November 16, 2005 Share Posted November 16, 2005 i keep adding "junk/treasure" to my collection...i am cataloging my postcards (along with photos and hopefully a searchable integration on my site) but the bulkier things like railroad track pieces, ashtrays, lightposts, signs, etc are starting to take over my home! in the last few months i got a really neat brochure of the Western Skies Motels in houston advertising the Miss America Pageants held there and their infamous Bali Hai Club. Where did you get the Western Skies brochure? That would be cool to post. How many postcards do you have? It's not architectural memorabilia, but I also have a couple antique maps of Houston. I like seeing what streets weren't there, or that were then and aren't now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 Where did you get the Western Skies brochure? That would be cool to post. How many postcards do you have? It's not architectural memorabilia, but I also have a couple antique maps of Houston. I like seeing what streets weren't there, or that were then and aren't now.i found the western skies brochure randomly on ebay - wasn't looking for it though.i have about fifty postcards as of now, and a small number of matchbooks and brochures. i also have about thirty salt dome and other geological maps of the gulf coast area from the forties and fifties.i tried scanning the brochure, but it is an odd size and won't completely fit on the scan bed. i'll find a way, though... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dbigtex56 Posted November 17, 2005 Author Share Posted November 17, 2005 - 4 American Std. commodes (apple green, pale wedgewood blue, sand pink and pale pink)...I actually hope to reuse some of this in my rather plain ranch house, if I ever have the time to install it. They would make a memorable conversation pit if they're functional. Maybe more so if they're not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sevfiv Posted November 18, 2005 Share Posted November 18, 2005 okie, the Western Skies brochure is up - i thought it would be fitting here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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