By RICHARD VIRGILIO
What began in 2002 as a personal desire to restore a home to its original glory has evolved into Central New Jersey’s largest architectural salvage showroom, Salvage Angel, located in Asbury Park.
“Salvage Angel grew from a personal need but I knew there were other people like me trying to truly restore their homes in a pure way,” said Carolyn Curtin, founder. “I started getting wish lists from friends and neighbors and my hobby grew from collecting architectural items to include vintage furniture and home decor.”
The 20,000-square-foot warehouse in the former Canada Dry building on Ridge Avenue has hundreds of thousands of vintage and antique pieces like reclaimed lumber, moldings, decorative copper filigree, custom made rugs, stained glass, lighting, plumbing fixtures, tile, furniture, nautical fixtures, bathtubs, mantles and housewares. But that list doesn’t nearly include all the surprise objects waiting for a creative brain to repurpose them like the set of perfectly rusted five-foot long anchor or the vintage “Big 6” gaming wheel. Ninety percent of Salvage Angel’s items are pre-1980.
