New England Demolition and Salvage

Stone Stories (2013),

New Bedford, Massachusetts

This story starts with the simple premise that things look great in a group—a fact that is made crystal clear as soon as visitors to New England Demolition and Salvage walk through the building’s unprepossessing front door.

Located in a converted nineteenth-century mill in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the 80,000 square foot space (yes, 80,000) is nearly unprecedented locally in its collection of architectural materials and artifacts, a collection that pays tribute to the history of construction in New England.

Looking for doors, hardware, cornices, newel posts? No problem. This space is chock-a block full. There are claw-foot tubs, shutters, mantelpieces, windows, and much, much more. Lined up by type, cheek-to-jowl, it’s a dizzying array.

But beyond the delight inherent in the graphic arrangement of these things, a more important fact emerges: owners Harry and Jeanine James’s commitment to the environment. These are things meant to be repurposed, recycled, and reused again and again.

And that’s the fact that’s really great.

73 Cove St., New Bedford, Mass., (508) 992-1099, nedsalvage.com. Open Thursday–Monday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.