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A Store that Built our Junk

October 25th, 2008 in member junk     
MimiToria Gretchen Schaumann, contributor
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The building was built in 1903 and manufactured hardware.  Some of the exact items we now use and claim as our own Junk for use in our creative projects we all make.
The hardware they created was molded into the building and is incredibly detailed.
Check out the hinge.  Amazing!
Note the thick cable chain running through the lions mouth.  Very detailed!
This is a hardware pulley that this company manufactured.
Built in 1903.  However, I didnt get the name of the building.
It is right down on the river front and best of all it is now home to a large antique shop, which just so happens to also include great junk style finds like we all love.
Note the cool letter D that this window makes.  This is what Im referring to when I posted a follow-up post on this post.
An I for my project.  Fun, huh?
A O from a maybe a valve opener or something.
Here is my X.  Kind of fun!  You get the idea now.
The building was built in 1903 and manufactured hardware.  Some of the exact items we now use and claim as our own Junk for use in our creative projects we all make.

The building was built in 1903 and manufactured hardware.  Some of the exact items we now use and claim as our own "Junk" for use in our creative projects we all make.
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While traveling to a family wedding we were able to spend a few hours down on the riverfront in Peoria, Illinois.  Their was fabulous architecture on the buildings.  This particular building once housed a hardware manufacturer (how cool is that?) and now is an antique shop that had great finds.  Just had to share the beauty of this building that created some of the junk we now redesign with.

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Comments (14)

4theloveofJUNK writes: Super cool! I think these pics would look super cool in black and white and framed!! I would put them on MY wall!

Thanks for stopping by my website. Yes, I have been silent on the junkmarket website because I have been WAY TOOO busy! I look at all of the fabulous projects often and gain much inspiration from them! (I guess my 9-5 is getting in the way of the stuff I am passionate about-JUNK!-but in these troubled financial times-I won't complain!! I am thankful.)

HUGS!
Tracey
polkadotsandpicketfences.com Posted: 4:40 pm on October 27th
cirlam writes: I am so excited about this post! I live about 2 hours south of Peoria, so it's not that far for me to road trip to! Also, my sis in law, who just had a baby, lives about 20 minutes away from the riverfront!! I see a road trip in my near future! Posted: 2:19 pm on October 27th
shabbychick writes: Gretchen - that building was a wonderful "find"! And, I love the letters out of architecture and other miscellaneous stuff - what a great idea!

There's always time for a "little" junking, isn't there???

Kathy Posted: 11:50 am on October 27th
MimiToria writes: Thanks for the comments Geo. My family and I walked around Peoria down by the waterfront, and my 14 year old daughter really got into this. She is the one that found the "D" letter which I rotated on my computer, as it is actually a vintage half moon window on one of the buildings.
It's amazing how much more you see once you start looking for the letters in stuff. I found a "J" in a pipe that if I rotate it on my computer it makes a perfect "J". Fun!

Thanks Lani for the heads up of the website. I will check it out for sure. I don't want to copy, but would like to do something of my own photography. Umpteen years ago I had a scholarship for photo/journalism, so its been a passion for years, but one I'm just getting back into exploring again. Kind of fun. Posted: 8:57 pm on October 26th
CottageElements writes: Great building and pictures, Gretchen. Hope you had a good time at your wedding, too! Love how you put them into Sepia. I do have a sign that says "FAMILY" from pictures like that. I purchased it where I also consign and was very reasonibly priced. I did find a website where you can special order them from that also seems reasonably priced. It's just for the pictures (not framing). It's http://www.alphabetphotography.ca/, but would be a great site to get ideas from to do your own. If you make some, Geo or Gretchen, be sure to post them!

Lani Posted: 7:21 pm on October 26th
georgiamoon writes: Gretchen, what a great idea to shoot pictures of things that look like letters. Now I'll have to look around..see this site makes us all look at things differently...I love that. I think that the sepia tone is so cool too. You could do close-ups of small things that look like letters too...an old chippy bracket could be an "L".... ooooh fun! Thanks for the incentive to be more aware of our surroundings in our everyday lives. Great job...Georgia Posted: 6:38 pm on October 26th
MimiToria writes: Thanks everyone. I just couldn't resist sharing this wonderful building that had such unique junk items like the door lock, hinge and pulley built right into the cement way back in 1903. It's been preserved beautifully! A gentlemen saw me taking photos on the street of various things and told me about the opposite of the building (which was this cool entrance we hadn't seen yet), so we not only shopped the antique shop for about 10 minutes, but also took the photos of this great building. I just love it!
I've seen the single letters around in black & white photos before both in MN and they had them for sale in the mall at Peoria, but it's like $180 to buy our last name done up like that. Now us junkers know that we are too cheap to pay that ridiculous price, so I will have the fun of photographing and creating my own version of someone else's great creative idea. I have the coolest "O". Check it out, I just added it to the post. Posted: 10:29 am on October 26th
berton718 writes: I love this building!! Thanks for sharing!! Posted: 9:47 am on October 26th
junkinhart writes: Gretchen, this is just amazing! How lucky the antique dealer is to have that great building, it just fits, like it was meant to be! Thanks for sharing your find and the history.

Cindy Posted: 5:49 am on October 26th
fellowjunker writes: Okay, I absolutely love the idea about the letters, and I see a "D", "I", "O", and possibly "H" in this building. Beautiful.
xojanis Posted: 1:08 am on October 26th
roadtriplouise writes: Its fun to find neat unique places on road trips!! I agree its best to shop with fellow junkers, as the family don't always understand the hunt! Like the idea to use the letters in a picture grouping.
Ann
Posted: 11:04 pm on October 25th
MimiToria writes: Isn't it great? I think the sepia also adds a nice touch to the vintage feel of the architecture of the building.
I did buy $15 of vintage mother of pearl buttons for my jewelry designs. My family thought I was nuts (best to shop with out the family) to spend that much, but honestly, a large share of my baggies were .50 marked down from $3.00, so that is like wayyyy good for mother of pearl buttons. These were special too, like square shaped, some were rare colors, others just had great carving in them. I loved my treasures!!!
I also spent a lot of time taking photos of letters in the different architecture that was down by the riverfront. Would love to spell some words out with my own rendentions of letter of the alphabet, so got a bunch of those photo'd at the same time. Fun, huh! Posted: 9:16 pm on October 25th
georgiamoon writes: Gretchen that is a really coll building and I love the hardware details. What a find. I wonder if some of my hinges were made in that very building...I'll betcha we've all run across some of it without knowing. Nice to know where some of our favorite things could have come from...I wouldn't have thought it would look like that though! Georgia Posted: 1:42 pm on October 25th
suewhitney writes: Hi Gretchen,

This building really is AMAZING! The hinge is way to cool. I love looking at architecture so thanks so much for posting this. I find these images to be very inspirational. Hope you had a great time at the wedding! I'm glad you were able to carve out some time or junking. Hahaha.....like wild horses could hold you back!

Be well,
Sue Posted: 10:38 am on October 25th
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