Extreme Bummer

[Russ Huber]

I contacted the present owner today via email of the building he and his partner renovated that had these 3 chrome plate Hunter ceiling circulators hanging in them when I took the pictures roughly 15 years ago. It was a Salvation Army at that time. The building renovations were done in 2021. You can see him and his partner in the in process of demolition building with the ceiling hung Hunter fans still in place exactly where I took the pictures 15 years ago.  I thought he may have taken them down and sold or stored them. Copied and pasted below is his today return message to me.

Hey there,

 

Thanks for reaching out and I wish there was more I could do, however those fans were scrapped with the metal during demolition.  We were able to save a ton of original elements from the building, however we scrapped anything of value to help with demo costs.  

We uncovered original Robbins maple flooring and were able to restore it as well as a section of original 1in square ceramic tile.  

 

I hope you’re able to visit sometime to see what whenever done with the place - and I wish we had saved the fans.  

 

Have a great holiday season.  

 

Thanks

[John Landstrom]

Sad.  

[Russ Huber]

I called the previous owner of the building about 5 years ago to see if he would sell them.  He said he would for a Ben Franklin a piece. I never got over in that direction again.  There actually were 4 of them to start. The clerk told me one of them didn't work when I took the pictures. I bet they pitched that one years ago, and with little doubt it probably simply had a malfunctioning switch.

Terry Fisher has a ceiling hung Air Castle I did nab from that same town just down the street.  I managed to at least save one from the scrap yard. I had to crawl across and through tight narrow trusses and stinky fiberglass insulation with tools in hand to release that air castle from the ceiling. That was the first 3 wing Air Castle I had ever laid eyes on back then years ago. There was no way I was going to let that one go. The building owner made me cough up for that one. Later more examples started to surface.

Edited December 24, 2022 by Russ Huber

[Russ Huber]

Terry posted it in August of 2010 on the old website. Any enhancements to the finish on the machine are credited Terry Fisher.  I sold it to him as is.

Edited December 24, 2022 by Russ Huber

[Mel Lagarde]

Gorgeous fan and save.  
 

 

[Russ Huber]

A few months back a near pristine countertop example like pictured below popped up for sale in northern Illinois for a Ben Franklin. Whoever nabbed that one got a deal and a beauty.  I modified this example which was passed to an AFCA member at Madison fan fair. With some imagination these fans offer a nice foundation to have fun with.

[Russ Huber]

[Terry Fisher]

I have enjoyed running that fan. It starts with the same old “big” capacitor which came with the fan. The cap. is in that tube shaped housing on the  bottom of the fan. I hope that old cap. holds out for many more years.

I sure am thankful that Russ saved that Air Castle and passed it on to me.   It is a real shame those other fans were lost to scrap.

 

[Russ Huber]

24 minutes ago, Terry Fisher said:

It is a real shame those other fans were lost to scrap.

 

The guy on the left is the owner at present. I sent him two follow up emails after the message he sent copied and pasted above. The first follow up message was asking him the name of the demolition company he and his previous partner hired.  I received no response from him. The second follow up message I sent, I offered to buy one of the 3 remaining fans if he still has them. I still have no response. Do you really think they sent them to scrap? I don't. 

The mistake I made is the building was sitting empty for years.  I had a chance to purchase the fans for a Ben a piece 5 to 10 years back from the previous building owner. When you snooze, you lose.

[Russ Huber]

37 minutes ago, Terry Fisher said:

I have enjoyed running that fan. It starts with the same old “big” capacitor which came with the fan. The cap. is in that tube shaped housing on the  bottom of the fan. I hope that old cap. holds out for many more years.

I sure am thankful that Russ saved that Air Castle and passed it on to me.   It is a real shame those other fans were lost to scrap.

 

Your example was the first I have ever seen years ago. It took me a while of persistence, and a hefty price to get the building owner to finally let it go, but I remember thinking that is one of the coolest ceiling circulators I have ever seen. 

[Nicholas Denney]

On 12/26/2022 at 3:17 PM, Russ Huber said:

The first follow up message was asking him the name of the demolition company he and his previous partner hired.  I received no response from him. The second follow up message I sent, I offered to buy one of the 3 remaining fans if he still has them. I still have no response. Do you really think they sent them scrap? I don't. 

I would also doubt it. All of the scrap/salvage dealers I know within a good half hour of me save everything that has significant more value than scrap weight. Two that closed due to family retiring, the auctions revealed that both places had saved up 1,000s of collectable metal pieces that had been brought to them. Everything from street signs to sewing machines to fire extinguishers. One of the auctions brought in total over half a million $$$, most of which was brought by the dozens of original porcelain enamel outdoor signs in the collection. Many sold for just over $1,000 each.

[Steven P Dempsey]

I had an Air Castle 20", GE motor - the base had been broken & brazed back together, cost a pretty penny to ship out west!