On Aug. 13 I stopped the bike to get a look at this collection of old bathroom fixtures being stored on the old Senders grain elevator lot.
On bike rides along the Albany riverfront, a growing outdoor collection of sinks, tubs and toilets caught my eye last month.
The items looked like antiques at first glance, and that’s what they are. They come from the former St. Francis Hotel, now in the process of being remodeled, restored and rebuilt.
The fixtures are being stored on a fenced industrial lot off the north end of Jefferson Street. The site is where the historic Senders grain elevator used to stand before it was demolished in 2007.
Scott Lepman owns the lot and the St. Francis. His company’s crew has been working to refurbish the old hotel since 2022.
What are you going to do with all that stuff on the Jefferson Street lot, I asked Lepman. “We are wondering if we can repurpose the fixtures,” he replied.
I could not tell from looking through the fence how old the items are, or whether they are the originals installed when the St. Francis Hotel was built in 1915.
But in one case, a company logo gives a clue.
The logo is that of the Ahrens & Ott Manufacturing Co., which was a major maker of plumbing supplies in the late 19th century.
Based in Louisville, Kentucky, the company made a range of plumbing and heating equipment including bathtubs, sinks, and toilets.
In 1899, the company merged with several others and became known as Standard Sanitary Manufacturing Company. After another merger in 1929, the company name changed again, and eventually it become American Standard.
One of the items on the Jefferson Street lot bears the logo of the Ahrens & Ott company, so we can assume it was made in no later than 1899.
The sinks and tubs look to be in pretty good shape. So if they can be reused or repurposed, why not? (hh)
By Aug. 29 the collection appeared to have grown.
The company logo gives you a clue that this fixture was most likely manufactured before 1899.
Very interesting. I would think someone would want them. Thanks, Hasso! Hoping you can get a tour inside when it’s finished.
Very cool! I love the touches that remind us what a big deal Albany was in the late 1800s
Such beautiful waste. Let that sink in.
I wonder if the new toilets & sinks have to pass the Albany code, like the windows never did pass…..There’s still another 22 million to spend on downtown that will never happen.
There is good demand for old bathtubs, not so for old toilets. Old sinks? maybe yes maybe no.
Just for historical perspective I never used one of these and I’m 81 years old. But I remember touring the upstairs floors as a young boy and seeing them.
Thanks for the update Hasso.
Having toured it several times several years ago, even in its then-decrepit state, it was easy to see how beautiful it could become when it is restored.
This is interesting to see. I hope some (or all) of these can be repurposed in the hotel or elsewhere. Great idea to make the attempt!
I wonder if they could be reused, with the low flow mandates that have happened in the last 50 years.
Interesting to see the old bathroom fixtures. I hope some of them can be used again.
Also, the old site of Willamette Seed & Grain Company. RIP Willard, Bob, and Ole.
Site of AG Senders Grain Elevator, also the owner of the St. Francis Hotel where these fixtures came from. .Interesting coincidence.
This is so freaking cool! I adore old buildings and things involved, and what a nice touch it would be to have some original or at least close to original touches still around.