“Working In The City” is The San Diego Sun’s feature Q&A series with downtown San Diego business operators. It’s a way to get to know the city by meeting the people who work here. This is the 30th in an ongoing series.
Company name: Architectural Salvage San Diego, 427 C Street (Core-Columbia)
What happens here: We specialize in sourcing salvaged building materials—doors, windows, hardware and so much more.
I am: Owner Carrie Clark.
How long have you worked downtown: Architectural Salvage San Diego has been in the downtown area for 30 years, initially in Little Italy. I have personally worked in the city since August 2025, when we relocated the shop to its current location.
What’s new at work: We are doing our very first DIY class in May (stay tuned) and will continue to offer classes throughout the year. Classes will focus on using various items from our store, whether that be windows, doors, hardware or discarded objects that need a new and purposeful use. Classes will also be about unique and creative projects, and we’ll also include some home improvement projects.
Best aspects of working downtown: I love the activity, and meeting different people everyday. I also really enjoy seeing familiar faces of our downtown working neighbors who stop in to shop on their lunch breaks.
Worst aspects of working downtown: Parking is not the most amazing experience. There are numerous choices for metered parking or parking garages, which is fantastic as it is a necessary component of helping people make their way downtown. And yet, parking for people who actually work and run a business downtown is not the easiest thing to navigate. In fact, it’s quite detrimental to the future of downtown if businesses don’t have the ability to periodically utilize city streets to perform necessary functions, such as loading and unloading materials.
Company pet/mascot: Sadly, our beloved dog, Wally, passed away recently. We have a very bright and colorful neon sign with his name on it. The sign was gifted to us by the La Jolla Playhouse. It lights up our space and declares the store, “Wally’s.”
Regular customers: Our “regulars” come from everywhere. We have homeowners who are looking to utilize historically accurate architectural elements into their home. We have designers, architects, contractors and many other roles within the commercial field also frequenting our space. And then we have the crew that comes in quite often to see what new treasures we have pulled from the basement to integrate into the shop. We’re constantly getting new inventory and it’s fun to see our regulars get excited about a new find.
Most surprising part of working downtown: Downtown encompasses such a large area and there are so many people walking past our doors every day. It was surprising to me that there are so many people that I now know – whether it’s because the patch of dirt in front of our shop is on their dog walk route, they frequent the same coffee shop I do, or we are grabbing lunch in the same places.
Scariest downtown work memory: There have been far too many scary moments. I’m okay talking about some; others have left me quite shaken. Downtown shouldn’t be a dangerous place and it doesn’t need to be a dangerous place. It takes those of us who live and work here to sound the alarm and talk about changes that are needed. I don’t want to pretend that downtown is always a safe and convenient and easy place to shop, even though I do want customers to come downtown. Typically, it is a safe, convenient and easy place to shop. More San Diegans should visit all the downtown stores and restaurants. But I also want to address the less appealing topics so we can make downtown San Diego the most amazing place to be.
Homelessness: I always say, “Everyone is welcome in our store until they are not.” People going through situations that have brought them to live on the street deserve to be treated with kindness and a welcoming greeting. We here at Architectural Salvage have an open mind and heart around the homelessness situation. We also recognize that more needs to be done to help support the entire downtown community. Maybe the city should also adopt the “Everyone is welcome here until they aren’t,” philosophy. Everyone is welcome to walk the streets of San Diego but if you are actively doing drugs and reacting erratically, stealing from shop-owners or violent to others then measures ought to be taken. I don’t know what those measures are. But we need to have this conversation with citizens, law enforcement and city leaders. Not shouting matches or blame games, but good conversations.
How can the city be more business friendly: We absolutely need more police presence, and officers who excel at deescalating situations. Not officers patrolling in their cruisers but ones on foot patrol and bike patrol. Spend time down here. Get to know those who are in need and get to know the citizens.
Favorite downtown business that isn’t yours: Big shout out to Goldchild Coffee Roasters.
Best advice for running a downtown SD business: Immediately download the San Diego Clean and Safe app and use it. The Clean and Safe team responds typically within 2 to 3 minutes to a safety request and within 15 minutes to a clean request. The Clean and Safe team has made our little corner at 5th & C much nicer than when we first moved in. I know that I always have someone to reach out to in order to keep our area in check. SDSun
