Northside Architectural Salvage Stores: Part I Bauer Brothers Salvage

WOW. WOW.WOW! Okay, just had to say this store was amazing!  If you live in Minneapolis you have to check this place out.  But let me back up and give you the story of where I went and why....

I have written a few other posts about my antique and architectural salvage store adventures.  A friend of mine (and fellow NOMI resident!) informed me that there are a couple AMAZING architectural salvage stores right here in North Minneapolis that I had to go see.  Holy Moly!  He wasn't kidding, I am so glad I found out about these stores and I am excited to share some photos of my visit and what I bought!  HandHH shout out to Dean!  Thank you so much!

There are 2 stores I am going to write about and I had to break it into two posts so they weren't so long and confusing.  The first place (which is again, AMAZING) was Bauer Brothers Salvage. I was also excited my friend Amy joined me on this adventure, girl's day out junkin'!

This place was no joke, it was a GIANT warehouse that seemed to just keep going and going.  Just when we thought we saw it all a worker told us there were 2 more floors to explore.  We joked that we should have brought some bread crumbs to help us find our way back to the entrance!

If you do go there, be sure to scroll to the bottom for some tips about what you should do/expect if you visit this store. 

 Here are some images of what we saw there...

Hutches, cabinets, light fixtures, hardware, sinks, grates, clocks, woodwork, etc.

 A whole floor of antique windows!  If you need some, come to this place! Just about any style/ color you can think of!

 Holy windows!

 They had salvaged radiator covers too.  Alex and I might take some measurements and come back to look at these.  We have lots of radiators and it might be nice to cover a few so we can use the space above them.

 Vintage shutters!  I know I will be back to get these once we decorate our master.  I love the look of these hung up on a wall.

They had a whole outdoor space filled with larger items as well.

 Here is another item I loved when I saw it.  Vintage lockers!  This would have been great in my new closet/dressing room.  Hmmm, after looking at this picture I might have to head back for another look at this. I worry someone might get to it before me though, these are so hard to find!

 Here are 5 tips for anyone that goes to shop/ explore at this store:

1. If you have something in mind that you want, tell the workers there exactly what you are looking for.  They have just about everything, I mean EVERYTHING!  The building is so big it would take forever to look for it yourself.  Just ask.

2. If you go in winter, bundle up!  This place is so big it isn't heated, and you will likely be there for a while if you like junkin'.  We got sooooo cold!

3. Wear gloves!  Not just for the cold, but things here are brought in from their salvage site and placed right in the store.  It isn't cleaned, so your hands might looks like this after you have looked through a few things...

4. Be warned, this place isn't set up to be glamorous.  The first section you walk through is set up very nicely, but the rest is just stacks and piles of items to sort through.  What they lack in 'beautiful merchandising' they make up for with their prices.  Most items were half or a third of a price you would find at other antique or salvage stores.

5. This is probably the best one... try to Bargain!  For the items I picked up I was able to get them for less than half of where I started at.  Granted mine were pretty little, but their staff is seemed pretty fun, so if you have a good attitude you might get a good deal!



So what did I get?

I only spent $12 and got 6 things! Talk about great prices (and a bit of good bargaining on my part)! I got these 4 antique woodwork pieces for only $2 a piece.  Funny, I thought they were gray, but they were just dirty.  Once you wipe them down they look like the white one in the top left.  I think I will hang them on a wall in the living room?  I love the rustic look!

I will share the rest of what I purchased in the next post tomorrow!