The headquarters of what is arguably the greatest salvage project in all of Southeast Texas will soon shutter. Historic Houston’s Salvage Warehouse in Houston’s First Ward is the culmination of 21 years of architectural salvage from Historic Houston’s Deconstruction Program.

On Saturday, January 18, the warehouse will be open to the public from 10 am to 3 pm for the sale of a lifetime. Historic Houston executive director Lynn Edmunson shared information about Historic Houston’s future and offered tips about the sale to prospective shoppers.

With the rapid gentrification of First Ward’s semi-industrial area into residential neighborhoods, the organization’s rented warehouse has been put up for sale. Clearing the warehouse prior to receiving a 30-day notice to vacate seemed the most pragmatic action to take, Edmunson explains.

Edmunson, who holds a master’s degree in architecture from the University of Houston, notes that the Historic Houston Salvage Warehouse has endured longer that most S&P 500 companies — no small thanks to the deconstruction program that began 12 years ago. This model has painstakingly salvaged architectural elements such as doors, windows, and flooring from hundreds of Houston’s historic homes and buildings over the years, drawing both the admiration and, sometimes, the ire of local preservationists.

“What we have is a sustainability issue versus a preservation issue,” says Edmunson, and she’s right to feel that way. Preservation purists’ rally cry is that nothing should be demolished, which is unfortunately unfeasible. Sustainability advocates acknowledge that some deconstruction is the only path to the historical restoration of other buildings (and keeping valuable items out of landfills).

For example, some online communities all but melted down last year over the sale and demolition of the Sarofim house in River Oaks. Whether anyone liked it or not, the house was coming down. Historic Houston stepped in and did what they do best — salvaging thousands of square feet of historical architectural elements from being buried in a landfill. That’s a win for everyone.

While the closing of the warehouse is imminent, not all is lost. After the warehouse sale on Saturday, any remaining items will be auctioned off at a future date in February — an event all 345,000 of the organization’s Instagram followers will be waiting to learn more about.

What’s more, Historic Houston will dutifully continue their deconstruction program and will host pop-up auctions in the future. This is a huge win for anyone considering the purchase of a historic Houston home. As the city continues to designate entire neighborhoods as historical, that comes with mountains of protections for restoring such buildings — along with narrowing resources to get these projects off the ground.

“We didn’t do this because we thought it was a good idea,” Edmunson says. “We just knew people looking for items for their renovations with no place to go — it’s getting harder and harder to do the work.”

Anyone who wants a deconstructed Round Top experience will enjoy the opportunity to explore reclaimed wooden floors, doors, windows, corbels, chandeliers, garden decor — really anything and everything that comes down with a house — and so much brass! The selection of Victorian-era decorative brass door hinges alone is enough to make it worth the trip.

Planning to attend the sale? Here are some things to keep in mind:

• There will be no assistance available for loading purchases — bring a sturdy pal (or two) if planning to purchase heavy items.
• Items not taken at time of sale may be collected on Monday, January 20th, or Friday, January 24th — again, bring assistance for large or heavy items. Any sold items that have not been picked up will be donated back to Historic Houston.
• The sale will be credit card only. All major credit cards accepted.

Something else to note is that there is one register at Historic Houston, so expect lines and please bring along some generous patience for their small and friendly staff.

Two feline friends who have worked the warehouse will also be needing to make new living arrangements. The eldest, a twelve year old lady named “Teahlia” is what some refer to as a “working cat” and is not interested in full time indoor living. The second is a recent friend who has been seemingly accustomed to indoor accommodations — reach out if interested in making a new friend.

Edmunson is sad that the circumstances have become what they have, but adds: “I would really like to say ‘Thanks’ for 21 years of building this business. We’ve served 11 counties in Southeast Texas looking to repurpose reclaimed items. It was really, really, really important to keep these things from landfills. We are sad to leave these people — where will they find these items?”

Where indeed.

  

Photo by Emily Cotton

The warehouse is loaded with reclaimed wood flooring.