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Seekers of the unusual—or the unusually large—hit the mother lode in a Chicago superstore
"Do you have any china?" a shopper asks Architectural Artifacts owner Stuart Grannen. "We're not china folk," he says. "We like big stuff"—as in massive, such as the 22-foot stone columns from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Grannen recently expanded his North Side shop to 80,000 square feet, annexing the knitting needle factory next door. Starting this summer, it will house his Museum of Historic Chicago Architecture, with a Louis Sullivan staircase, Frank Lloyd Wright windows, and a fragment from Chicago's Buckingham Fountain. But what sets Grannen's salvage business apart is his eye for what he calls "funkadelics," including $1,500 French mannequins from the 1920s (at left), vintage Argentine glass candy jar stands ($1,500-$4,000), and $25 hand-shaped Latex glove molds (773-348-0622; www.architecturalartifacts.com).Truth In Travel
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Published in August 2008. Prices and other information were accurate at press time, but are subject to change. Please confirm details with individual establishments before planning your trip.
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