Julie and I kept hearing about these places that reclaim architectural structures (doors, transoms, windows, railings, etc) from houses around New Orleans and sell them for cheap. Sometimes the houses are getting a second life through organizations such as Habitat for Humanity, and often these eco-minded salvage yards are the only thing standing between the materials and already overstuffed landfills. We needed to get our hands on some of those structures!!

So we did what any good journalists would do: we Googled "new orleans", "repurposed", "recycled", and "architecture". Google did not steer us wrong! We found The Green Project, a community-minded warehouse/shop/lumber yard in NOLA's St. Roch neighborhood. They hold events and workshops, and are open to treasure hunters and curious community members Monday - Saturday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. When Julie and I went (Wednesday around 2 p.m.), the place was bustling with hard working, eco-friendly looking folk. There was a special where ANYTHING in the driveway was free for the taking. We got a door, that we just might use for a tabletop.

You can see from the pictures above that the Preservation Salvage Store is directly next door to The Green Project shop. In fact they appear to share a driveway, and The Salvage Store is open the same days with opening hours from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Of course, we stopped in the Salvage Store, too, and found cabinets, tables, and doors galore.

You'll also notice above an incarnation of my favorite sign in the world, "Free Paint". The Green Project actually started as a Mid-City paint-recycling project. Read more about recycling mastermind Linda Stone and how the Project started here.