A Touching Documentary About New York City’s Last Wood Column Factory Closing After 110 Years

Documentarian Joshua Charow visited Thomas Lupo at American Wood Column Corp. in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, a small business that has specialized in traditional architectural woodworking since 1916 and maintains a collection of historic molds. It is the last of its kind in New York City.

I made a documentary about New York City’s last remaining column factory, American Wood Column Corp. The film tells the story of its third-generation owner, Thomas Lupo. 

Lupo fondly reflected on a century of generational craftsmanship, the shop’s woodwork for productions such as The Godfather and Saturday Night Live, the shop’s unchanging nature, and the challenges of sustaining a specialized family trade amid its decline.

People who come here the first time go, “Oh, wow. It’s like stepping into old New York.” And people who were here were, “Oh, wow. I haven’t been here for 30 years. It still looks the same.” …You know, a lot of people might say they would want to do it, or this is great or whatever like that, but it’s, you know, that’s a quirky type of business now. I don’t know of many people that are doing it. There’s just nobody going into these trades anymore. They will die.

Sadly, American Wood Column is closing its doors after 110 years in business.