Among troves of architectural treasures, nestled inside the building at the corner of St. Joseph Boulevard and Tennessee Avenue, you’ll find Chuck and Lyndsey Springer– lovers of all things old and the owners of
Reclaimed Fort Wayne. A step inside their shop transports you to a whole new world, filled with trinkets from the past that may have been forgotten otherwise, rooms filled with antique and vintage finds, and aisles lined with architectural salvage.
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Rachel Von Art LLCOwners Chuck and Lyndsey Springer at their shop, Reclaimed Fort Wayne, 1514 St. Joseph Blvd. Fort Wayne, IN.As an architectural salvage company, Reclaimed Fort Wayne works on saving and preserving unique parts and pieces of historic homes and commercial properties.
“Antique architectural salvage is the original architectural items/elements– doors, windows, fireplace mantels, hardware, etc. that we rescue from older homes and buildings,” says Lyndsey. “We have the opportunity to bring beautiful pieces back to life, repurpose, and give new homes to live on. Otherwise, it could’ve ended up in the landfill. We also get to help customers with ideas and buying that perfect piece for their old, new home, or remodel.”
The Springers have always been lovers of antiques and vintage items. Even though they don’t have a history of restoring items, when the opportunity was presented to purchase The Woodshack’s inventory, a former architectural salvage business, they took the leap. They purchased the inventory in 2019 and have been going strong since then.
“We have a network of people that we refer people to, and we have some talented handymen that are really good at repairs, such as lighting repair/restoration. Jerry Vandeveer was a huge help and had a vast amount of knowledge he shared with us about the architectural salvage business,” Lyndsey says of The Woodshack’s late owner.
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Rachel Von Art LLCOne of the many rooms available to customers at Reclaimed Fort Wayne.While Reclaimed Fort Wayne might be the couple’s first venture into architectural salvage, this isn’t their first entrepreneurial venture. Chuck is an acclaimed artist, forging one-of-a-kind artwork, as well as jewelry, from vintage cars. Lyndsey founded her own insurance company in 2017 but has since sold that business to focus on work at the shop. They are originally from Columbia City but have been Fort Wayne residents since 2013.
For the husband and wife duo, owning an architectural salvage business is ideal. The Springers describe their perfect date as rummaging through a thrift or antique store, where they hunt for shop items and often find items too good to pass up for themselves.
“It’s fun because we actually physically go to the old houses before they tear them down and remove items,” Chuck says. “It’s that first walk-through, the treasure hunt, the excitement of what we’ll find. We kind of go in knowing what to expect, but there’s always things that you find that you weren’t expecting, and that’s the fun part.”
Chuck and Lyndsey say they are always on the hunt, salvaging items from old homes, commercial buildings, schools and churches. To them, architectural treasure hunting is a creative outlet, and they are proud to be the destination for items of the past, saving the unique parts of historic homes from the wrecking ball.
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Rachel Von Art LLCRewired pendant lights at Reclaimed Fort Wayne.Not only is this a creative outlet, but the Springers are also motivated by the fact that their work lends to sustainability. They explain that they were once gifted a Preservation Week poster from the 1980s, which featured a quote at the bottom that stuck with them– “It takes energy to construct a new building. It saves energy to preserve an old one.”
The duo says this quote has become important to them and their work.
“Saving, reusing and preserving things of the past, keeps things out of landfills, and ultimately helps the environment in the long run,” Lyndsey says.
Through their contacts, various contractors, or interested individuals who reach out to them directly, Chuck and Lyndsey are able to rescue lumber, lighting, doors, door knobs, bathtubs, sinks, roof tiles, radiator covers, rosettes and much more. From the smallest to the largest parts of old homes and buildings, the Springers find these hidden gems and then work to restore, repair and even rewire at Reclaimed Fort Wayne.
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Rachel Von Art LLCDoor Knobs at Reclaimed Fort Wayne.“It encompasses our love of all things old and gives us an opportunity to rescue pieces of history to live on and create a new story,” they say. “Every week there are new challenges and treasure hunts, and it’s exciting for us to see where the pieces go and make all the hours of hard work worth it. We restore and rewire antique lighting, ship items nationwide– big and small, and we’re always looking for good inventory to purchase.”
The niche business brings in visitors from Ohio, Michigan and Illinois. Upon entering the shop, many customers are flooded with nostalgia. Chuck and Lyndsey say they enjoy hearing the customers' reactions, the “oohs” and “wows” as customers peruse the aisles and stumble upon items that excite them or remind them of another time. Whether the item is French doors, a vintage hairdryer, or a pink toilet from the 40s, there is a wide variety of items waiting to be discovered.
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Rachel Von Art LLCOne of the many rooms available to customers at Reclaimed Fort Wayne.“Much of what we sell is unique and one-of-a-kind,” the couple says. “We continually try to make things organized and laid out well with the customer in mind.”
Reclaimed Fort Wayne features many products from reclaimed lumber and live edge pieces, vintage and antique furniture and decor, and they’ve even curated retail space for like-minded local makers. They currently have candles from Cedar Creek Candles, as well as Sharp Dressed Van jewelry, which is made by hand from vintage cars (Chuck and Lyndsey’s jewelry).
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Rachel Von Art LLCReclaimed wood at Reclaimed Fort Wayne.Chuck and Lyndsey operate their own website and social media pages, but they caution that a majority of their inventory doesn’t make an online appearance, so visiting the shop is a must.
“I’d say we probably have like one percent of our inventory online right now,” Lyndsey explains. “We try to post regularly on social media, but a lot of times when we do post things sell from that post.”
Even though the majority of their business and inventory is in person, their website and social media pages help connect with out-of-state buyers, giving them the opportunity to ship their reclaimed finds all over the US.
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Rachel Von Art LLCChuck Springer takes apart an interior mortise lock.“Many people have expressed that they appreciate what we do and what our mission is,” Chuck and Lyndsey say. “We also have people coming in from outside of Fort Wayne and surrounding states, so it’s been positive knowing we can be a resource to not only our local community but surrounding areas as well.”
In the future, Lyndsey says she hopes to continue to build their online presence.
“Getting stuff online and shipping more, we’ve made some connections with private shippers to ship larger items, so, we hope to expand on that, getting stuff online,” she says.
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Rachel Von Art LLCChuck Springer helps customers Angie and Mark Cook at Reclaimed Fort Wayne.Chuck says he’s hopeful they’ll be able to grow their customer base and continue finding hidden gems.
“We’re always trying to grow and expand our market and just do a better job,” Chuck says. “There’s still a lot of people in Fort Wayne that don’t even know we’re here and just trying to continually find good inventory that people are looking for.”
Reclaimed Fort Wayne is open on Thursdays from noon to 5 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 4 p.m., and Sundays from noon to 4 p.m. at 1514 St Joseph Blvd, Fort Wayne, IN 46805.