Proprietor Alice Dunn’s love affair with old house parts began in the early 90’s when she bought her first home, an 1865 Victorian on Spring Street in Portland. Subsequently, she bought, restored and sold many properties, and in the restoration phase of these projects discovered there was a profound shortage of vintage materials. The seed of an idea that would become Portland Architectural Salvage was sown.

Alice scoured Uncle Henry’s for house parts and local transfer stations for cast-offs, and stored her treasures in a warehouse on Presumpscot Street. Her treasure trove grew, and at the urging of friends (and Portland Landmarks) she hung her shingle on Washington Avenue in 1993. Several years later, she moved to larger quarters (a whopping 350 square feet) at 253 Congress Street at the base of Munjoy Hill. She quickly outgrew that space and relocated the bustling operation to 919 Congress Street (the current site of Salvage BBQ).

In 2004, Alice learned that the Portland Mattress Factory building was for sale. Located in Bayside, an emerging neighborhood, Alice saw huge potential in the 20,000 sq. ft. structure. She bought the building, did massive renovations and moved her business there in 2005. Sixteen years later, it’s still going strong and all of Bayside is burgeoning.

All of Alice’s great stuff comes from — and is purchased by — people from all walks of life, and should you have items you might be interested in selling or an old home that contains the kind of cool house parts that our customers crave, please be in touch. Email: portlandsalvage@hotmail.com