The Brass Knob to Close on February 15th

• January 24th 2011

by UrbanTurf Staff

The Brass Knob Back Doors Warehouse at 57 N Street NW (map) has announced that it will close its doors for good on Tuesday, February 15th. A long-time favorite of architectural salvage fanatics in the DC area, the 24,000 square-foot warehouse is closing largely because of rent and tax increases.

When UrbanTurf’s Amanda Abrams wrote a piece on the warehouse back in November, owner Ron Allan thought the doors might be closed by the end of 2010. Here is how Abrams described shopping at the Brass Knob:

It is like shopping at any other thrift store: customers trade low prices and the possibility of finding treasures for the time and energy involved in the search. Items are organized—to a point. Someone seeking a particular panel door (average price: $45) might have to look through the hundreds stacked next to each other in order to find the right one. Porcelain sink fixtures are available ($18 for a complete set), but you’ll have to sort through a drawer of various sized faucet handles to find one that fits. The store’s dusty mazes hold many more surprises: curlicued iron gates and grates begging to be reinvented; clawfoot tubs; perfect pedestal sinks; engraved brass hinges; leaded windows; and even portly wood columns.

Allan said at the time the article was published that his wife wanted to move to Hawaii. His response: “I’m having a hard time with the idea of transitioning from lifting heavy things to laying on the beach.”

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/the_brass_knob_to_close_on_february_15th/2893.