salvaged "new old stock" art deco machine age chicago back bar glass rods available free of charge

UPDATE AS OF 2024: this was posted 9 YEARS AGO. apologies, but we no longer have any left!

fortunately, there are a surprisingly healthy supply of original depression-era american streamlined style back bars that remain in use and well-maintained in chicago area bars. a few of the more common design features or characteristics that make these chicago back bars distinctive, are the use of centrally located, tiered or stepped shelves for bottle placement, opposed circular mirrors, the use of multiple walnut veneers, and perhaps most importantly, the use of illuminated glass rods positioned both vertically (along the header) and horizontally, in a curved formation (i.e., bowing or protruding outward), that flank the central shelves and/or installed on each end.

during a recent salvage we discovered multiple boxes of unused or "new old stock" solid cylindrical-shaped glass rods that would have been used during the fabrication of this style of back bar. based on the intact and legible label affixed to the one of the boxes, the heavy glass rods were fabricated by or for the crystal glass tube & cylinder company, chicago, il. the intact packaged rods were found in a facility that fabricated back and front bars since the early 20th century. remarkably, all of the cardboard boxes (held together with multiple steel staples and bound on either side with twine) were intact and free from damage. additionally, rolls of veneers, boxed bar stools, and other related supplies were found together in a workshop sealed off and hidden away since the late 1940's.

having salvaged several of these back bars of this particular style that incorporated these unique glowing glass rods in their overall design scheme throughout the years, i always wondered who designed and fabricated these rods and whether they were specific to a certain region and so on. in the few instances where a poorly maintained bar was salvaged, we were faced with the task of finding suitable replacements before the bar could be presentable for resale. more often than not, we were forced to sell the back bars "as is," leaving the hunt for rod replacement to the new owner.

now that i possess i sizable amount of these glass rods and have identified the original manufacturer, i felt the need to document an all original depression era box as it was found at the location where we were salvaging. the boxed rods have not been cleaned (intentionally), nor opened.

since i thought this was an incredibly interesting find, i felt the need to share with the reader who manufactured these rods and how they were distributed to the companies that constructed this type of back bar. in addition, i pulled a few images from the web depicting chicago back bars that contain the rods "in situ," to provide a bit of context in terms of placement, etc. in almost every instance, the rods are backlit with some source of illumination that mat or may not use colored light bulbs.

if you have happen to own a chicago tavern equipped with one of these distinctive art deco back bars and are missing some of your glass rods, please feel free to contact us. i'm more than happy to offer these replacement rods to anyone free of charge - provided they fit your existing bar configuration.