After Bridget, Lauren, and I went to Lincoln Antique Mall, we drove north to Bridget’s second pick: Architectural Artifacts. From the outside of the building, you have no idea what you’re about to experience.

The only thing I knew about Architectural Artifacts was that you can get married/have your wedding reception there (hello! I’m a recent bride!). I had no clue of the vastness or the sheer volume of vintage pieces and salvages items they have. I’m talking rooms of just mantles, just doors, and so much more. With at least four or five floors of showrooms (it’s hard to remember!), we decided to take a right first into a room filled with lots of lighting, tiles, stained-glass windows, accessories, and teeth (yes, I typed “teeth”). But the cool thing about this place is that just when you think you’ve conquered a room, there’s more. This space would be amazing for hide and seek…

If you keep walking, you’ll find a beautiful atrium filled with tons of natural light. From there, you can either go up and explore the showrooms (which is what we did) or downstairs where they hold their events. We made it our mission to visit every room, which took hours, and a pit stop along the way for a Twizzlers snack. But it was so worth it. We saw vintage bikes (photo below), chemistry sets, medical chairs, Spanish bakery signs, chairs of all shapes and sizes, chandeliers for every style, old country and anatomy maps, church kneelers and pews, exotic rugs, a bench with attached seats from an Italian ice cream shop, iron gates, and way too much more to share in this post.

I truly have never seen such interesting finds in my life. They are a little pricey, but if you can afford it (and even if you can’t), you’ve got to see this place to believe it.

And I can’t imagine how pretty a wedding would be here. A woman showed us how the space is laid out for an event, where the bride and groom are center stage for their ceremony at the top of the main floor stairs, and then how one big main event space is broken up into smaller spaces to create a truly one-of-a-kind venue. And the chandeliers in the “dining area” (which are near a fountain, I kid you not) were gorgeous.

I know I’m kind of drooling over this place, but it reminded me why I’m doing this blog. I really felt like I experienced something completely new that I probably wouldn’t have visited on my own. Thanks, Bridge and Laur!

Architectural Artifacts (Be sure to check out their website for just a fraction of the merchandise they have in-house!)
Atrium Events (their event space website)
4325 N. Ravenswood Ave.
Lakeview

Note: I made Bridge and Laur pose for these photos. I hope you enjoy this stunning photo gallery!