Urban Ore
Urban Ore Ecopark is part junkyard, part thrift store, and part garage sale. It has everything you’re looking for, and lots of it. Need a new window? A vintage teapot? A seat from a rollercoaster? They got it, and one in every size and color you can imagine.
This is 3 acres of pure scavenging heaven. A mecca for those seeking vintage building materials, you could also easily spend hours in here and not even notice the rows of toilets and tubs outside. Sometimes, the bargains and finds are so delicious that you want to cry. Other times the cat pee smell and greasy mug handles just don’t make it worth the hunt. If that’s the case, we call it a day and pack it in knowing full well we’ll be back in no time and probably leave with an armload of new treasures.
–Apartment Therapy
The idea behind Urban Ore is zero waste. It is the ultimate form of recycling - they take apart broken cars, saves appliances from houses before demolition, detaches things like school lockers, and makes it all available to the public. They will even pay you for something you bring in - although not a lot, since they often need to restore or clean it. And they do a great job of it - as well as organizing it in the warehouse.
You can find the front door you’re looking for in one of the many aisles of almost-new and vintage doors, and find all the parts you need for installation (door hinges, doorknobs from just about every era, screen doors) without setting foot outside of Urban Ore. It’s a handyman, collector, and environmentalist’s dream come true.
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Urban Ore website »
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Outside of Urban Ore. The place is huge!
Inside of the store (Photo by Apartment Therapy)
Doorknob plates arrange beautifully on teal pegboard. There has to be someone managing displays because some parts of Urban Ore were way too photogenic!
Old mannequins. I thought this picture turned out really great. (Kind of eerie, but cool composition).
They have every kind of door you can possibly imagine. Industrial kitchen doors, Victorian doors, and some that look brand new.
Mike checking out table legs. He wants to design and build furniture (aren’t I a lucky girl)
The stove talks. “My name is Willow, Willow Ufgood, and my lil’ plastic knobs are behind the register.”
Bathtub feet. How random is that.
Boxes and boxes of the same kind of electrical wire - or something along those lines.
A vintage Coca Cola cart.
Lots of mismatching chairs. Great for a re upholstery project.
File cabinets - I’m guessing from a high school or something.
Some parts of the warehouse were very un-store like - corners like this look like Uncle Bob’s garage.
A giant giraffe. You know you wanted one.
A whole bookshelf of National Geographic magazines! Probably found in some weirdo’s basement.
An old pharmacy sign.
A sea of toilets…
and sinks.
Need windows?
Old records. I didn’t go near these, otherwise I would be at Urban Ore for the rest of the day.
See all my photos »
Urban Ore website »
Article on Apartment Therapy »
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Boxes and boxes of the same kind of electrical wire - or something along those lines. << Those seems to be vacuum tubes, like for old computers or radios.
@HKT
Ah, thanks for the correction!
Nice!! I’ve been looking for a new computer desk and wardrobes…I might need to stop by here today to check it out!
I love urban ore! It’s a great place to find recycled material for crafts. I was really inspired after seeing the cool kinetic sculptures of Reuben Margolin: http://www.reubenmargolin.com/
He gets his stuff from Urban Ore too!