Antique door thefts in Philadelphia cause concerns for home, property owners

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- Philadelphia police are looking for the thief who stole the front door off an apartment complex in the city's Spring Garden section, and it's not the first time this has happened.

Last weekend, the front door of the apartment complex in the 2000 block of Green Street was ripped right off, hinges and all. A closer look and you'd see some of the nails and debris was left behind by the person or group that stole it.

As to why someone would take an old door? Salvage expert Chris Stock believes he knows why.

"They're probably being stolen for an actual buyer because no one is going to have all this risk to get caught and then stick it in a warehouse and hope they sell it for "x" amount of dollars," Stock said.

Stock, who runs Philadelphia Salvage said, as of late, he's been notified by numerous homeowners and tenants alike about stolen doors in West Philadelphia and in the Spring Garden area.

Some of the doors are being illegally sold for as much as $10,000 in cities like New York. Online communities that are dedicated to tracking these transactions have shared posts about these recent thefts.

"I saw people posting on social media, 'Hey if you saw a crew working with a pickup truck working on the doors you wouldn't think anything about it, but if it's at night, you should second guess yourself,'" Stock said.

Concerned Spring Garden residents believe the crime serves as a reminder that perhaps we all get back to days of "love thy neighbor."

"Everybody has got to watch out for everybody else," said Daniel Bloom.

Philadelphia police confirmed they are investigating this theft.

Experts said this actually isn't a new trend, but information about the value of antique doors has spread, possibly explaining the increase in thefts.