Antique Trunks

One of my early childhood experiences in So.Calif. was riding my bicycle down to the old Santa Anita Rialroad Station in Arcadia when it was on it’s original location on Colorado Blvd . I would spend time prying off the sheet metal covering over the loading dock entrance and spend some more time initially just standing there and absorbing the smells of a century full of eucalyptus leaves , bats and pigeons , and old railroad wagons , trunks and freight dollies . I loved the old musky smell of antiquity and I would always leave it undisturbed so that I could ride back another day and enjoy it again , ………. over and over. Eventually the station , being in the path of the oncoming 210 freeway construction , was moved nearby to the L.A. County Arboretum and Lucky Baldwin rancho in Arcadia not far away from it’s original location . I always wanted to salvage and restore those wonderful timeless boxes which , originally , were built so well in anticipation of rough travel treatment . Utilized indoors these days I believe that similar trunks , restored by myself , will last for many more generations and become family heirlooms for the future families not yet formed.

The first restoration was done in 1969, and I’ve never stopped. I’ve restored well over 100 of them over the fifty years since I started and tried to include the before pictures along with the after pictures. I’ve replaced missing pieces, repaired damage, and left marks that tell the story of each one. They are intended to become family heirlooms and each have clean renovated interiors also.