Upping the Ante on Architectural Ripoffs

Old House Journal Magazine January/February 2001

By OHJ Staff

When bold thieves stole $30,000 worth of stained and beveled glass windows from a Philadelphia suburb last summer–half in one night and the rest 24 hours later–it was the last straw.

Reporter Tom Ferrick, who was covering the cityscape for the Philadelphia Inquirer, had grown tired of seeing architectural theft treated as a minor league crime. "I had to do something besides sit and wring my hands."

He wondered: Why not reward tipsters who would rat on the thieves or their buyer? The University City District (UCD), a neighborhood improvement group, and the University City Historical Society grabbed the ball as co–sponsors, and other neighborhood associations and businesses passed the hat for a total of more than $8,000. They enlisted the Citizens Crime Commission, a group of retired law enforcement officers already running a hotline to help solve murders and assaults, to also accept tips on architectural thefts.

Tips received so far haven't resulted in an arrest, but with the exception of a UDC board member whose iron gates were stolen in October, "the theft has virtually dried up," said UCD executive director Paul Steinke. "We think it could be attributed to the considerable publicity we received. The thieves got the message that they could no longer operate with impunity."

Architectural theft is a growing problem in historic neighborhoods, especially those where a high proportion of houses are empty, either because they've been abandoned or are being renovated before new owners move in. Hot items in Philadelphia are decorative fences, grates, and other ironwork. Bricks and bootscrapes disappear. "One entire block had trouble getting to work one morning because all their brass doorknobs were gone," said Allison Kelsey, public information director for the UCD. "A woman in another neighborhood had half of the columns on her house removed."

The coalition sent photos of the stolen windows to salvage dealers and architectural fairs throughout the region, "but we were taking a stab in the dark," says Kelsey. "These things were mass produced, not singular treasures." Even if a stolen item is found, owners usually have to prove provenance: that the gate or window is actually theirs and not a lookalike.

University City is a trolley–car suburb of middle–management homes built primarily in the late 1800s, according to historical society president Kathy Dowdell. The nearby University of Pennsylvania offers incentives to employees buying or renovating in the area–including the people whose windows were stolen.

"Most thefts have been little things like window grates or finials on porch columns," says Dowdell, an architect. "Still, the accumulation over the years was very frustrating and annoying. But the window theft was so egregious. You know how it is with an old house. You see something like stained glass windows and think, `Well, that will make peeling all the wallpaper worth it.' Then the windows are gone but you still have to deal with the wallpaper."

Ferrick would like to see other Philadelphia neighborhoods offer rewards to protect their architectural heritage, or law enforcement agencies adopt a comprehensive approach, such as identifying tags or code numbers. "I hope this idea doesn't end with University City," says the journalist. "We can at least add an element of risk to what these thieves are doing."

Architectural salvage dealers can also help instill fear in scofflaws, says Mark Steinke, managing director of Salvage One in Chicago. (He's no relation to the UCD director.) His company makes a photocopy of the driver's license or other ID of anyone bringing them salvage, and pays only by check. Steinke doesn't do business with anyone "if I smell a rat–if they don't seem in a position to have something like that, or if they say, 'Oh, I just found it lying around in the back yard.'" He also has a prominently placed bulletin board with law enforcement alerts about stolen artifacts.

Steinke buys primarily from England, where architectural antiques are more carefully documented and he knows the dealers. Salvage One, in business for 20 years, is considered one of the premier salvage suppliers in the nation. "I want our customers to know that they have a rightful claim to what they buy," Steinke says. "It wouldn't do me any good to have it heard that I buy stolen merchandise." Because he grew up in this architectural mecca and knows its building ornaments intimately, "People would have to be really dumb to come to me with anything from Chicago."

There are plenty of less prestigious outlets for these treasures, of course. Some believe that stolen goods from eastern cities are heading west, where structural adornments are rare. But maybe not. Told that finials are one of the big draws for University City thieves, Steinke reacts with some surprise. "You know, I've been seeing a lot of Philadelphia–style finials around here. At flea markets."