Incredible Handcrafted Guitars Made From the Reclaimed Wood of Old New York City Buildings

Great Big Story caught up with Rick Kelly, the talented proprietor of Carmine Street Guitars, who is well known and highly regarded for his incredible handcrafted guitars, all made with wood reclaimed from old New York City buildings that have been razed or destroyed.

All Kelly guitars are made from one-hundred percent reclaimed lumber. "Recently I have started a new series of limited-edition "Bowery Guitars" which are all built from recycled lumber. I call this wood "The Bones of Old New York City". It is the "King's Wood" - white pine timbers that were barged down the Hudson River 200 years ago from the great virgin forests of the Adirondacks, in upstate New York. This is the framing wood from which all 1800's New York City buildings are built. As these buildings are demolished, or, in many cases, the old wood is being replaced, I am right there to build a guitar from a piece of Old New York.

A photo posted by Rick Kelly (@carminestreetguitars) on May 19, 2016 at 4:31pm PDT

A video posted by Rick Kelly (@carminestreetguitars) on Jun 3, 2016 at 2:19pm PDT

A photo posted by Rick Kelly (@carminestreetguitars) on May 1, 2016 at 6:03am PDT

A video posted by Rick Kelly (@carminestreetguitars) on May 5, 2016 at 8:02am PDT