Make No Little Plans: The Architectural Artifacts Auction

This bittersweet event will celebrate the closing of Architectural Artifacts, Inc. on Ravenswood Ave. in Chicago. After 31 years, owner Stuart Grannen will officially close the Ravenswood store at the end of 2018. Over the years, Grannen has supplied eccentric and unmatched architectural treasures, antiques, and oddities to architects, interior designers, movie and tv productions, as well as to museums and collectors all over the world.

“After 30 plus years I need a bit of a break from retail, and retail probably needs a break from me,“ remarks Grannen. “I will continue to travel the world nonstop buying remarkable items while refreshing my sense of adventure and design. These fabulous finds will still be available to our customers at architecturalartifacts.com,” says Grannen. “Stay tuned for what I’ve got cooking. There will be a new collaboration between myself and Erik Retzer, the current Director of Architectural Artifacts. The new project will be a design centric store, with a worldwide aesthetic opening early 2019.”

Founded in 1987 by Grannen, Architectural Artifacts, Inc. became an American institution offering an eclectic mix of objects from around the world and fragments from some of the nation’s most significant buildings. Offerings include important art and artifacts from some of Chicago’s most historic buildings plus unusual and fascinating objects from around the globe. The eclectic collection speaks to Grannen’s eye for quality and his sense of adventure. This one-of-a-kind Chicago store is a national treasure for history and architectural enthusiasts and collectors alike with fun around every corner.

When it opened, Architectural Artifacts, Inc. occupied a 3,000 square-foot space on Chicago’s Ravenswood Avenue. At the time, the city was undergoing massive transformations, and the previous decades brought the demolition of some of Chicago’s most important commercial buildings and private residences. Grannen began salvaging and collecting architectural fragments and ornamentation, valuing each piece as a snapshot of a time and place imbued with history and quality. He soon broadened his interests to a global level and traveled the world for objects that interested him, exemplified great craftsmanship, told a story, or that were simply very cool. By 1992 his space was at capacity, and Grannen purchased a 30,000 square-foot plastics molding factory just a few blocks north. Eight years later he further expanded the store to over 80,000 square feet where Grannen and his team have amassed a vast collection of objects and pedigreed architectural fragments- all of which will be offered at auction.

Composed of approximately 1000 lots, the auction will feature highlights of Architectural Artifacts, Inc.’s 31-year history. Standout items include a pair of monumental carved limestone horses from 1920, an Italian mid-century eightarm chandelier in the style of Stilnovo, a 1930’s colossal Italian pine cabinet by A. Meroni & R. Fossati from the Terme di Salsomaggiore, an ancient Roman spa outside of Parma, Italy, a fantastic zinc zodiac themed clock face from the Schlitz Brewery clock tower in Milwaukee Wisconsin. A rare terracotta fragment from the façade of the Frank Lloyd Wright designed Francisco Terrace in Chicago, a pair of large winged limestone griffins from a bank in Kansas City, a pair of original lamp posts from the 1883 World’s Columbian Exposition, an Italian marble bathtub carved in the ancient Roman style, and a 1920’s French cafe bar with beer taps and a zinc top from France.