For 30 years, John Walter’s medium has been iron or steel. But he loves old wood, too. And ladders. And chairs. And nautical things …
“I’m a chronic dumpster diver. The only difference between me and a hoarder is I will sell everything I own,” he says.
Then he corrects himself. “Except my dad’s rocking chair.”
Yet it hangs from the rafters along with more than a dozen other chairs at his newest enterprise, Salvation by Iron Eden in Bloomfield.
This weekend is the grand opening for the architectural antiques business Mr. Walter and his wife, Jody, have created in a century-old former church at 4700 Lorigan St. Its two floors and 4,500 square feet are jammed with stuff Mr. Walter has accumulated over the last 20 years while creating wrought-iron and steel art down the hill at Iron Eden. He used to store most of it in a series of buildings across the street from his studio. The amount amazes his wife.
“I didn’t know we had all of this,” she says, looking around. “I wish I knew where half your stuff came from.”
Flea markets, old houses and commercial buildings are his favorite sources, he says.
“I used to follow around demolition crews. Now they bring stuff to me because they know I’m a pack rat.”
A shelf filled with corbels from buildings all over Pittsburgh range in price from $20-$150.
Gutter heads — copper and steel pieces that can be turned into planters — are $25-$65 and steel wheels from farm and industrial equipment are $75-$200. Old wooden ladders hanging from the second-floor ceiling are priced at $25-$75.
“We’re sorta obsessed with ladders,” says Mrs. Walter, adding that she uses them for towel racks.
As with many antique stores, marked prices are not firm. “Everything’s negotiable,” he says.
What he paid for something is only one factor in its price. “That’s $30 worth of cool” is his determination of one item’s value. Apparently the two dozen feet left over from clawfoot tubs are not quite that cool. They’re $25 each.
Mr. Walter, 64, of Mt. Lebanon learned to weld and bend metal as a marine engineer with the U.S. Merchant Marine. About 30 years ago, he crafted some window guards and gates for owners of historic homes on the North Side. His showroom and studio were on Liberty Avenue in Bloomfield for many years, until he moved the studio to the Lorrigan Street hollow. The Liberty Avenue property now houses Eden House — four short-stay apartments. Mrs. Walter, 52, manages the apartments and does marketing and social media for the various businesses. Their partnership clicks like a well-made gate.
“He finds stuff, I style it,” she says. “I’m more the design end of things.”
When he brings in a piece of painted frieze salvaged from Eden House, she immediately sees a new use.
“It would make a great headboard or bench,” she says.
On their first date, they bonded over windows salvaged from a dumpster in Shadyside. Today, large arched windows from the South Side Market House lean against the side of the building. For $200, one can be yours.
Nearby is a stack of doors, more windows and scraps of marble and granite. Around back is 20,000 board feet of pine, hemlock and other types of old lumber. Back inside are these finds:
• Vintage organizer with wood drawers: $90
• Half-globe lights from a church: $150
• Pittsburgh fireman’s locker with original blue paint: $400
• Adjustable 1940s steel stools: $95
• Industrial wheeled carts (they make great coffee tables): $75
• 1950s klepper, a collapsible sailing canoe: $1,500
• Antique Indonesian marionette: $150
• Braided rope from Pittsburgh Gauge Co.: $1 a foot
Though like items are grouped together, surprises turn up everywhere.
“People do want a bit of a treasure hunt,” Mrs. Walter says.
If all goes well, the couple plan to open another business on Liberty Avenue in the spring. Named Joe Mag for mythical steelworker Joe Magarac, it will sell high-end iron furniture made from industrial artifacts that were once parts of bridges, train trestles and factories.
Mr. Walter, who appeared recently on the pilot episode of the DIY network TV show “Restoring Pittsburgh,” says he does not actively seek out architectural antiques anymore. They find him.
“I’m like a magnet for this stuff,” he says.
An iron man who attracts artifacts is her most unique find, his wife says.
“Knowing us, we’ll always have a cache of architectural stuff.”
Salvation by Iron Eden, 4700 Lorigan St., Bloomfield (15224) Hours: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Wednesdays and Sundays, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays. On Facebook or call 412-654-7057.
Kevin Kirkland: kkirkland@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1978.
First Published: October 14, 2016, 4:50 p.m.
