Southern California Salvage Discovers Vintage Treasures

For those conscious of their consumption and environmental impact, the mantra “reduce, reuse, recycle” serves well. But how often can you put that into effect when remodeling a home?

At , you can do all three–while finding unique household fixtures.

Located in downtown Los Angeles, Southern California Salvage is housed in a warehouse at 727 East Washington Blvd. (Parking and the entrance, however, are at 720 East 18th St., on the back side of the building.)

Pulling up, you’re greeted by an array of claw foot bathtubs and toilets. Inside, more architectural treasures await.

Owner Jerry Hernandez, just 34 years old, bought the business in March. Hernandez abandoned his plans to join the Marines and had been working for the business back when it was Santa Fe Wrecking.

Customer James-Michael Peace “always heard of them referred to as Santa Fe Wrecking."

"The new name will take some getting used to,” he said. But he was referred there by “literally” everyone he asked when looking for unique antiques for a home remodel.

Hernandez seeks out unique and vintage fixtures, from doors and windows, to tubs and toilets. When finding and buying goods for his business, Hernandez has one “main criteria: It has to be different from what you get at Home Depot.”

So for homeowners, property owners, designers and set decorators looking for the unique and the unusual, Hernandez has thousands of square feet of offerings.

There’s the 1920s heavy-duty hand-painted safe that was found, broken and unused, in the corner of a Los Angeles warehouse. There are towering wooden gates from Argentina made of teak and mahogany. There’s a rare intact earthenware bathtub.

Chandeliers dangle from the ceiling–as does a rusty scythe. There is an aisle of doors, a corner of claw feet and a wide selection of tubs and toilets. Hernandez offers, he says, “a little of everything”--except lumber and tile.

Echo Park and Silver Lake residents may also find Southern California Salvage's downtown location helpful. Long-time local favorite Silver Lake Salvage just moved to Pasadena.

"We still get a lot of people from Echo Park and Silver Lake," said Frank Dimodica of Silver Lake Salvage. "It's nice that they have another option."

is open Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.