This is more like our family baby than a business,” commented Julie Ricca with a laugh. “We are the caretakers as it gets handed down.”
Ricca is the third-generation co-owner of the eponymous Ricca’s Architectural Sales. The business was founded in 1956 by her grandfather, who observed the city tearing down old buildings on Poydras Street to widen and redevelop it.
“He saw them throwing things into the landfill and he didn’t like that,” Ricca recalled. “He was green before green was anything but a color.”
While it is now a Mid-City institution, nestled into its 511 North Solomon Street location just off the Lafitte Greenway, the nature of the store’s inventory means customers come from all over town. Ricca estimates that there are millions of items on hand, from chandeliers and lighting of all kinds to beautiful old stained glass (and contemporary) windows, from every imaginable type of builder’s hardware, hinges and handles, fittings and fixtures, to plumbing and even old bathtubs.
“We try to be a one-stop shop,” said Ricca, though she confessed that she doesn’t even attempt to keep track of every last item. “There would be no way to take an inventory, and three days later, it would be inaccurate anyway.”
Among this historical architectural miscellany, “Doors are our bread and butter,” Ricca reported. “People want doors with character.”
The process of obtaining these items usually begins with a phone call reporting demolition of an old building. Photos are requested, and if it looks promising, a site visit will follow. In addition, contractors and homeowners frequently bring in items discarded during renovations.
Besides all the glorious older pieces, Ricca’s also offers certain new items. With a full-service mill shop next door, doors and shutters can be custom-built, or resized and repaired. The company also has its own line of builders’ hardware, historic reproductions that are made abroad. Similarly, a line of historic door reproductions is also imported.
Unfortunately, this is now Ricca’s biggest challenge. “Prices for imports are fluctuating constantly,” she noted, “so we are being a little more cautious with what we are bringing in. Right now, we are focusing on what we have in stock and waiting it out to see what happens.
“Reclaimed items don’t have tariffs,” she added with a chuckle.
These pieces have other virtues as well. Ricca pointed out that many classic architectural items aren’t made any more or made as well. Thus, an item that is already decades old may still outlast something new.
And, while there is a perception that anything older has to cost more, Ricca and her eight fellow staff members work with customers to meet their budgets.
“If you go outside New Orleans, things are so much more expensive, but we’re still this nice little bubble where things are more affordable,” she said.
Being customer-focused has been a core tenet of the businesses since her grandfather’s time, and it has paid off with multi-generational patrons.
“People come in and say their grandparents came here,” Ricca said. “Now they bring their kids. It’s almost like a museum.
“Seeing something have a second life is the best. It’s wonderful when we get emails from customers years later. It’s wonderful to create with our customers.”
Ricca’s Architectural Sales
511 N Solomon St., New Orleans
504-488-5524 // riccasarchitectural.com // @riccasarchitectural
