Brazen thieves are once again stealing historic architectural features from properties across New Orleans, reported Tania Dall of WWLTV last week. In one recent case, a victim tells Eyewitness News investigators are trying to track down a group of criminals using a painting company as a front to commit the heists.
 
"I thought that looks like wood off my building. I said, I hope no one tried to pull wood off," said Lawrence Gobble, who for 10 years has called his 7th Ward property on Elysian Fields Avenue home.
 
Last week while letting his dogs out, he noticed something unusual.
 
"When I looked up, I noticed that the architectural brackets and the cornice over the door were gone," said Gobble, confirming the items date back to the 1850s, all gone from the adjacent commercial property he owns next door.
 
Gobble said he went to run a quick errand, which is when neighbors spotted a crew of thieves stealing all five brackets and an ornamental piece in broad daylight with cars going by. Neighbors didn't ask questions because they told Gobble that the crew looked legitimate. The property owner said an NOPD detective told him another home in the area had also been a target, mostly likely by the same people.
 
"We saw them at noon on Monday on ladders going up there. We walked over there and thought, yeah, no, Lawrence is probably having work done on his building because they had a truck and on the side of it, it said something painting," said Gobble.
 
Calls to salvage businesses around town would lead him to the Bank Architectural Antiques Store. Owner Sean Wilkerson tells WWL-TV the stolen items were sold to the family-owned business the same day.
 
"They matched the color of the cornices, which was a vibrant gold kinda of color, which is why he got his things back, you know," said Wilkerson.
 
Wilkerson said state law requires people to provide IDs when they show up to his door and a 30-day holding period is implemented. The Central City business is seeing a spike in calls from mostly developers who've bought new homes at auction, many stripped of their historic features needing to be replaced.
 
"I'd surmise a lot of the renovations that are going on, especially in these vibrant communities -- Treme, Bywater -- when there are parts missing, I think they're being borrowed," said Wilkerson.
 
"Broke the weld mark and simply lifted it off. It was heavy so whoever did it, they had to have at least two people," said Will Winebrenner.
 
"Hey, our gate is missing" -- those are the words that woke up Winebrenner about three weeks ago. The realtor has snapshots of the 75-pound gate taken in the middle of the night.
 
He said it dates back to the early 1900s and after calls to iron welders discovered the gate's design can't be replicated.
 
"I want to say that some piece of me says they went and sold it for scrap. My gut tells me it was an inside job, it's either over state lines or sitting in the back of some person's fence or, you know, in their backyard," said Winebrenner.
 
While Winebrenner has installed security cameras and warned neighbors about the theft, but he hopes his stolen gate resurfaces.
 
The heist is part of a criminal spree that is chiseling away at the city's historic fabric, a criminal spree one victim said you can help curb.
 
"If you buy it at a salvage yard or if you buy it at a garage sale, ask where did this come from? Where did this gate come from? What's the history behind it?" Winebrenner said.
 
Lawrence Grobble wrote on Facebook:

 
UPDATE ON PROPERTY THEFT
The Architectural pieces have been reclaimed that were stolen from my building on Sunday Night/Monday Morning.
THANK YOU TO EVERYONE FOR YOUR POSITIVE THOUGHTS, COMMENTS, PRAYERS AND SUGGESTIONS!!!
Here is the Story with a happy conclusion!
I called the New Orleans Police Department this morning to file a report and also started calling the local Architectural and Salvage Antique shops I am familiar with...the second call was to The Bank Antiques on Felicity. I told the owner, Sean, what had happened and he said he had purchased some yesterday afternoon from someone. He sent me a photo that I, honestly, could not positively identify as mine. I told him that and sent him a photo of my building with the pieces intact. He responded very quickly, "These are your's Lawrence, come and get them." I was so happy to find them that quickly!
When the Police arrived I told them the approximate time they were stolen, and that I had located them at The Bank Architectural Antiques.
They sent the Detective there to gain additional information.
Luckily, The Bank Architectural Antiques take ID from all people who sell to them. They also have a policy to not strip and refinish any new acquisitions for 30 days in case the people lied to them and they are stolen and someone comes in looking for their property. They turn the information over to the Police and return stolen items no questions asked.
Extremelly nice and Professional and making a difference in the community while operating a salvage/restoration shop.
With all this information it should be no problem to catch the guy and get a conviction for theft.
And I have the original part of my building back in my possession and I will refurbish them as I renovate my building...A very exciting adventure.
LOVE TO YOU ALL
You were Great! The Police were Great! The Bank Architectural Antiques are Great!

 
In Receiving Stolen Property Bill Kibbel wrote on Oldhouseweb in 2011:
 

Over the past two years, I've been inspecting significantly more buildings that are vacant. Some, because of the amount of time they sit on the market, owners have had to move on. Others are because of bank foreclosures. The theft of "parts" from these buildings initially started with some exterior elements. Copper gutters and downspouts, copper conductors from lightning rod systems and the coils from air conditioning compressors were the most common missing items. When our economy really took a dive, the thieves moved to breaking and entering. In some buildings, after all the exposed copper plumbing is removed, the thieves bust large holes in the walls looking for the concealed pipes. Occasionally a church bell disappears.
 
I've heard of some attempts at getting local governments to try to mitigate these thefts by quickly boarding up and securing vacant buildings. I've even heard a proposal for one city to enclose building lots with high fences. Not much has been implemented - this costs money. I can't help but think that the scrap dealers have some responsibility to "sense a rat" and call police. I wonder if regulating the scrap dealers would help.
 
More recently, there's been a major increase in "architectural theft" from historically significant buildings. It's not just big ticket items like marble fireplace surrounds and ornate railings. Door knobs, window locks, paneled doors, stained glass windows and even simple moldings are being stripped from vacant homes. These thefts often occur in daylight. The thieves look just like contractors showing up to do work on the building. This type of theft causes significantly more damage than by the copper-for-crack-money thieves. It permanently eradicates original elements that part of the character of the historic building. Here's some pics of a crime scene.
This isn't anything new for communities in Great Britain and Ireland. This has been a major problem for their architectural treasures for decades. Fine old buildings get stripped and the 'parts' are quickly packed into shipping containers and sent to the US for resale in some upscale architectural antiques retailers.
 
Us old house restorers act like kids in a toy store when in architectural salvage shops. It might make a small difference if we take a few minutes to interview the proprietor. I know some that won't accept any merchandise without being confident that it's from a legitimate source. Also, looking out for and reporting suspicious activity at our empty neighbors might help preserve the character of our historic communities - and hope someone moves in soon (and doesn't ruin it).

One USA dealership which has been a member of the Salvo Code since the 1990s receives all Salvo Theft Alerts. It studiously avoids stolen items, and has helped repatriate stolen architectural antiques from the USA back to England to their original owners.
 
Salvo invites more U.S. dealers (and all dealers worldwide) to join the Salvo Code for good practice in stock purchasing, and to buy more safely from Salvo Code members.