Architectural Artifacts

Contributor

Citysearch

The Scene
This massive antique boutique could be the excavation site of a fallen, well-endowed 19th-century European town. That's because owner Stuart Grannen scours Europe every few weeks for the kind of stuff that makes people squeal with excitement on "Antique Road Show." The handpicked selection is surprisingly well-organized, and each item is labeled with price and origin (an ancient monastery, a public building in Glasgow).

The Goods
Every inch of the 30,000-square-foot store is chock-full of finds, from places and periods as divergent as 16th-century England and 20th-century America. Big draws include more than 2,000 chandeliers, ornately carved fireplace mantels, stained glass, American and European garden accessories, and carved stone statues. You might see an original staircase from the Chicago Stock Exchange (the only other one is in the Metropolitan Museum of Art), French leather club chairs, an 18th-century Spanish doorway or an American ceremonial pickax.