Bauer Brothers Salvage

I have a love hate relationship with Bauer Brothers.
Get ready to feel like you’re dealing with Tony Soprano and his crew when you go in there to shop! The more expensive your item is and the more desperate you are, the more you’re going to feel like you’re making a payment to The Family.
If you have an old building and you need to match a radiator or a door, this is your best (and possibly your only) option. And they know it.
They have thousands of square feet to explore. Actually, I usually get lost – literally. It isn’t comfortable. It’s super cold in the winter and hot in the summer. Get ready to do some walking.
My biggest beef with these guys is the pricing. I feel that they, basically, have a monopoly on what you need and you’re going to get screwed. If you need a small item, no big deal. If you need something bigger, get ready… don’t bend over and hold onto your wallet.
I was looking at a HUGE item… but it was a totally discretionary purchase. I was quoted $ 1500 by one of the brothers. I was pretty sure I wanted it, but I really had to think about it because of the size, the weight, and the amount of work involved. (I knew it wasn’t going anywhere because I’d seen it sitting around for over a year.) I went back about 3 weeks later to make the purchase and the second brother quoted me $ 3000! So the price doubled in three weeks. On top of that, he acted like he didn’t believe me about the previous quote and in any case, he didn’t give a crap. «Sorry Mr. Soprano, I didn’t mean no disrespect! That’s what Paulie quoted me 3 weeks ago – honest!»
In summary, I’d say five stars for the selection, one star for the inconsistent, mafia pricing.
–Daddy Maxx Retro

It’s freezing in the winter, burning hot in the summer, stinks of mold most of the time, and the owners are seriously grumpy old men who will try to take all your money if they realize you really want something. That being said, it’s the best place in town to find something cool at a reasonable price. They have tons of doors– possibly thousands. Lots of old wood workings, very nice vintage items, and a great selection of vintage plumbing parts like sinks and tubs. Not the place for antique lighting or hardware. I go there all the time. The staff is friendly, helpful, and funny (except for the owners)

So, this place is pretty intense. Intense with amount of stuff and the smell (according to my lovely Mother, said smell is MOLD… she has a VERY sensitive nose and can almost always pin point what it so stinky). My husband was on the hunt for old, vintage register covers for our 1920’s house in lieu of the ones bought in the ‘80s. Takin’ it back, old school… oh yeah.
So, this warehouse of a store has so much «stuff» it is somewhat intimidating if you don’t know your way around. One friendly employee, not sure of his name, offered us a tour of the joint. I think he saw the frightened look on my Mother’s face and wanted to give her an «experience»…I was happy he did because he knew the ins and outs of that place.
Isle and isle of old radiators, old radiator covers, hinges, doors, big huge built-​in corner cabinets, HUGE Pillars that looks like they were taken from some place in Greece. Just some really odd stuff. We walked by a really long sink. My Mother inquired «Is that a cadaver table? It looks like that is the drain for the blood.» Affirmative. The guy giving us the tour said yes, it very well was. Ewwwwwwwwwwe. Sick. Moving on with the tour… we saw the biggest washing machine I’ve ever seen in my life. It belonged to an old hospital and was used to wash their linens. Then, the University had a lot of relics in there too– such as what looked to be the first studio quality video camera on wheels. Just really odd stuff. Interesting. But odd.
Anyway, we came in just before closing time, probably spend about 45 min in there and that was plenty for my Mom and I… who are sensitive to smells however I think my Dad and husband could have spent a couple days in there rummaging around. To each their own.

Overwhelming amount of stuff in here, most of it with an industrial slant. The front room is the most interesting to me, with massive old wood mantels and posts and beams. The back room has radiators and toilets and large, large pieces of machinery. I saw someone meticulously rummaging through a vast bin of screws or washers or whatever and my head started to spin. Lots and lots of potential here, if you have the patience and fortitude to wade through it.