Treasure Hunt
Hippo
Hardware & Trading Company
By Joanne Kilborn
If you’ve
never stepped inside Hippo Hardware & Trading Company at 1040
E. Burnside then you owe it to yourself to do so soon. Named one of
the “10 best things to do” in Portland by AAA Oregon, Hippo
— as it’s affectionately known — has long been a resource
for historic and hard-to-find hardware, plumbing, doors and windows,
light fixtures, mouldings — just about anything that can be salvaged
and/or restored. You name it and chances are they’ve got it.
But don’t be fooled into thinking this is an ordinary junk store
that only buys, sells, or trades old reclaimed items and antique collectibles.
New and remanufactured items also comprise a large amount of Hippo’s
business. The store also provides restoration services. It even has
a shop that creates and restores UL-listed light fixtures, plus Hippo
is one of the few places in Portland that can rebuild and restore
used and antique plumbing fixtures.
Upon entering
the store you’re greeted with a vast assortment of hardware —
hinges, locks, knobs, etc. From there — depending on what you’re
after — you can scour the basement for doors, windows, mouldings
and the like, or browse the second floor plumbing area in search of
an antique faucet or clawfoot bathtub. Then there’s the top floor
loaded with lighting fixtures from almost every era that — in
time — will find it’s way back in style.
Co-founders Steve
Miller and Steve Oppenheim, “reuse and recycle” kings, started
in the secondhand business in the mid ‘70s working for someone
else. A few years later they found themselves with a pick-up, $5,000
and knowledge they had gained reclaiming the “throwaways”
of other people. So they started rescuing and reselling items of architectural
history and value before the item found its way to a dumpster headed
for the landfill. And the rest is history. According to Miller, we
live in a Bic Society: “We use something up and then throw it
out.” Both men have a good understanding of the past. Their concern
for reclaiming architectural elements comes from an environmental
as well as an architectural perspective. They are dedicated to finding
a home for most anything and occasionally — on a management approval
basis only — they act as a repository for donations of items
that have little or no commercial value locally but may have value
elsewhere. One such example involved a local church building homes
for Indians in Chiapas, Mexico. Miller and Oppenheim donated a truckload
of lighting fixtures to the project, and while the fixtures had no
commercial value here at home, they were an object of pride and distinction
for the Indians, which in turn created value according to Oppenheim.
So, whether you’re
undertaking a major renovation and hoping to maintain the original
architectural integrity of your project, want to replace that vintage
door handle or glass globe, or just spend some time peeking into the
past– make Hippo your destination. Where else can you find a
fun and functional place that is packed to the rafters with an extensive
array of architectural elements — most with historic value —
coupled with hippos peeking out from any nook and cranny, half a man
hanging from the ceiling, and dinosaurs taking up residence on an
old chandelier. But come prepared…..wear your grubbies and plan
on spending lots of time “diggin’” for historic treasures.
Logon
to: www.hippohardware.com for more information. |
