Antique doors stolen off their hinges from Spring Garden apartment building
These doors are worth about $2,000, according to police. A salvage expert said they could be resold for up to $10,000.
After a break-in, a Spring Garden apartment building is missing its most basic feature: doors.
Police say thieves ripped the dark-green doors from their hinges at 2020 Green St. just before sunrise Saturday. Door and other exterior property theft is not uncommon and can be quite lucrative, according to architectural salvaging experts.
After receiving a tip from one of the building’s residents, Philadelphia Salvage owner Chris Stock posted about the theft on his business’s Instagram and Facebook pages, asking his followers to keep an eye out for the missing doors.
In his post he also noted a second door theft from another location — a set of brown doors — and he did not know if the two incidents were related. Police are investigating the theft at 2020 Green St. but did not say they were looking into another stolen-door complaint
These doors are worth about $2,000, according to police. Stock said they could be resold for up to $10,000. He said he believes the doors were made in the late 1800s and said they are desirable not only because of their history but because they are large enough to fit in brownstone doorframes.
Stock said the thefts of doorframes and other items, like mantels and stained glass, have been going on for decades but increased in recent years, along with the demand for salvaged architecture, which is valued for its history and character.
“People are trying to restore things rather than just throwing them out,” he said.
Door thefts can be simple, especially because many old doors have worn-out locks that are easy to break.
“It’s actually easier to steal a door in the middle of the daytime and take the doors off. Who’s going to know? They look like contractors, like they’re working for the landlord,” Stock said.
Stock believes the doors are long gone from Philadelphia and are likely in New York City to be sold at an inflated price.
“This has been going on for so long, and we never find them,” he said. “There’s no way someone’s going to steal a door, take the risk of getting caught, and not have an end buyer already set up, and it has to be for a lot of money.”