While driving along American roadways in the mid-20th century, it was common to see restaurants masquerading as a massive 65-foot-long muskie, gas stations in the shape of a teapot, and motels that looked like wigwams and railroad cars.
Before the arrival of corporate advertising, franchise branding, and building conformity, the architectural environment in the U.S. was a free-form landscape of creative expressions. During the open-road automobile culture that swept the country at that time, businesses wanted to take advantage of attracting potential customers. Enormous roosters, dinosaurs, peaches, milk bottles, giant lumberjacks, and other whimsical signs, artifacts and buildings stood as proud totems along the highways, beckoning to travelers like endearingly eccentric sirens and luring them to stop — because really, who could come upon a giant gun-totin’ rootin’-tootin’ shrimp in a cowboy hat and not want to get out of the car and at least take a picture of it?
From 1969-2008, photographer John Margolies (1940-2016) drove more than 100,000 miles across the country exploring the changing landscape of the open-road culture, documenting roadside attractions. Almost all of Margolies’ work was done in the interest of preserving images of what would otherwise be lost to time.
Margolies shot more than 11,000 photographs of signs on main streets, gas stations, movie theaters, restaurants, motels, miniature golf courses, fantasy coastal resorts, and various odd sculptures and amusements. In an age when online shopping and mega-malls have reconfigured American consumerism — stripping away delightful peculiarity in favor of a bland uniformity — his work stirs up nostalgia and reminds us of a more unpredictable and colorful past.
Author of a dozen books, including John Margolies: Roadside America (2010), his photographs have sold at auction from between $100 to $3,250. The bulk of his work was consigned to the John Margolies Roadside America Photograph Archive, which was purchased by the Library of Congress. In 2017, the Library of Congress lifted all copyrights on the photographs, meaning we can all cruise through them anytime we need a nostalgic road trip.
Bob’s Big Boy, Los Angeles, 1981.
Teapot Dome gas station, Zillah, WA, 1987.
Bomber gas station, Route 99 E., Milwaukie, OR, 1980.
Leaning Tower of Pizza, Quincy, MA, 1984.
Peach water tower, Frontage Road, Gaffney, SC, 1988.
Bob’s Java Jive, Route 99. Tacoma, WA, 1979.
We recently visited the 2023 edition of the Original Miami Beach Antique Show, held at the city’s Convention Center. More than 600 national and international vendors offered everything under the sun, from antiques and art to vintage fashion and home furnishings.
However, most of the show was jewelry. Lots of diamond jewelry—even just stones—plus costume jewelry from Chanel, Tiffany & Co. and Cartier. There were many Van Cleef & Arpels four-leaf clover-inspired necklaces, earrings and bracelets; they are very popular right now. We were also surprised to see so much silver and at very high prices—beautiful plates, cutlery sets, huge urns, vases and serving pieces.
A few dealers were selling high-end handbags. The majority were Hermès Birkin, Chanel and Louis Vuitton, including many Vuitton trunks.
There were many pieces of Asian art furniture and vases. We also saw ornate French furniture and chandeliers, as well as big sculptures and antique paintings with big gilt frames. There didn’t appear to be much modern furniture on display.
But this is our favorite moment from the show. Two booths were selling trays of silver items and scraps, sold by weight. My son (and fellow Kovels correspondent!), Adrian, is very interested in gems. He picked a pendant for $4, and spotted a pavé diamond ring which was selling for $20. The booth attendant looked at the ring and quickly told Adrian that he could put the ring on hold so he could look around the show and see if he wanted something better. But Adrian insisted on buying that ring. The attendant continued trying to talk him out of it, but Adrian paid his $20 and got the prize he wanted. I haven’t had the ring examined yet to check the quality of the metal and if the diamonds are real to know how valuable the ring truly is. But one thing is for sure: It’s worth more than $20.
So you never know what bargains you might find, no matter where you are!
Design Miami was once again in Miami in conjunction with Art Basel and the numerous satellite fairs. This was Art Basel’s 20th anniversary and it has certainly transformed the art scene in Miami. Each year in early December, curators, collectors and art afficionados swarm to the city to experience contemporary art firsthand, to select pieces to buy for their collections or museums, or just to be part of the art scene.
Parties are everywhere and the fashion and furniture manufacturers have joined in. Dolce and Gabbana showcased their fine jewelry with several craftsmen and craftswomen working on pieces during the show. The results on display sold for hundreds of thousands and up to $15 million. All created under the strict supervision of partners Dolce and Gabbana. This year the show’s theme was “The Golden Age: Looking to the Future” through the lens of design, and it was filled with striking, colorful pieces. We gravitated to the historical works, but some of the new pieces also caught our eye.
We traveled to Washington, D.C., for a visit and spent an afternoon at Hillwood Estate, Museum & Gardens. Hillwood was the home of Marjorie Merriweather Post (1887–1973), heir to the Post Cereal Co. empire, businesswoman, socialite and philanthropist. Post bought the house and property in 1955. It sits on the edge of Rock Creek Park, which winds its way through Northwest D.C. We went there to see a collection of Dior clothing worn by the late Grace Kelly, Princess of Monaco, which was on exhibit in the Adirondack cabin Post had built on the grounds. We stayed the rest of the day for everything else.
Marjorie Post was an avid collector of 18th-century French and pre-Revolutionary Russian decorative arts, and the home is filled with treasures. Some are one-of-a-kind and irreplaceable, such as two Fabergé Imperial eggs that were commissioned as gifts from Czar Nicholas II to his mother, the dazzling wedding crown worn by the Empress Alexandra of Russia and the chandelier in the breakfast room that belonged to Catherine the Great.
While it was incredible to see such exquisite things, the museum-quality French furniture, Beauvais tapestries, Sèvres Blue Celeste and Rose porcelain, pre-Bolshevik Russian silver tea sets, chalices, religious icons and porcelains, Chinese jades, enameled boxes, jewelry by Cartier and Harry Winston, and so much more, made it seem like walking through the categories of the Kovels’ price guide.
During her many parties, Post delighted in showing her collections to guests, encouraging them to pull out drawers in display cabinets that contained information about the objects. Items are still arranged that way—a collector’s home rather than a museum. Curious visitors today can follow along with an audio tour or a tour guide for information. But guests can still open drawers in Post’s dressing room, for example, and view carefully laid corsets and accessories.
The kitchen looks like it is ready to prepare dinner for 24, with vintage appliances out and ready. And the butler’s pantry cupboards are full of “everyday” dishes and glassware, from ruby thumbprint goblets to enameled Czech glass dessert ware.
Outside, groups of lawn chairs are arranged in quiet nooks and overlooks, inviting visitors to linger and enjoy the “Lunar Lawn,” a rose garden, a Japanese-style garden, a French parterre, a putting green and other spaces. Food is available in the Merriweather Café to eat indoors or out. They will even lend you a picnic blanket.
Marjorie Post’s vision was to have Hillwood, its treasures and grounds maintained as a museum after her death. It was full of delights. Learn more at Hillwoodmuseum.org.
In the world of antiques, Oneida, New York, is famous for its silver. The Oneida brand is still in operation today, making dinnerware, kitchenware and stainless steel and silver flatware. It introduced stainless steel flatware in the 1960s. The company began as Oneida Community Ltd., one of the first joint-stock corporations in the United States, in 1881. It produced silver-plated hollowware and flatware. The name changed to Oneida Ltd. in 1935.
Before it was a company, Oneida was a utopian community. The Oneida Community was founded in 1848 and lasted until 1880, making it one of the longest-lived communal societies of the 1800s. The community built their Mansion House in phases from 1861 to 1878.
Today, the Oneida Community Mansion House is a museum and inn. If you’re in the area for antiques shopping, say, at the Oneida Commons Vendor Mall, The Bull Farm Antiques, the recently expanded The Eclectic Chic or any of its many other options, you can stop by the Mansion House for a tour or stay overnight. You will learn about the history of the community and the preservation of the historic architecture. Works that the community made and sold, like silverware, textiles and game traps, are on exhibit.
Rooms are furnished with reproduction Stickley furniture, fitting the setting and philosophy of the community. The Stickley brothers, originators of American Arts and Crafts furniture, founded their first furniture company in New York in the 1880s. The Arts and Crafts movement and the utopian movement shared the values of industry, simplicity and community. Some Arts and Crafts makers, like the Rose Valley Association, were also utopian communities.
Other decorations in the rooms of the Mansion House include silver and textiles. Oneida Community crafters made an unusual kind of pictorial textile. They used strips of braided fabric, like the kind used for rugs; but instead of shaping them into rounds or ovals, crafters made them into pictures.
In the world of antiques, Oneida, New York, is famous for its silver. The Oneida brand is still in operation today, making dinnerware, kitchenware and stainless steel and silver flatware. But before it was a company, it was a utopian community.
Now is a good time to start thinking about summer travel for next year and where you want to go. Maine is “Vacationland” for a reason. It has no shortage of beautiful vistas, great food and history. It’s also a great place to find antiques!
We went in the summer when the weather is warm and the days are long. Antiques shops were scattered along the main roads like US 1, and we found many antiques related to the changing seasons—and to Maine. If you go in early August during the lobster festival, you might also catch the Beach to Beacon race —a 10K that attracts elite runners and finishes at the gorgeous Portland Head Light.
Here are some of the places we stopped and antiques that we found.
If you are in Columbus, Ohio, German Village is an excellent place to visit. It’s a historic district filled with 19th-century brick homes and buildings. Attractions include Franklin Art Glass Studios, The Book Loft independent bookstore and brewery district. And just outside Schiller Park, a short distance from restaurants and cafes, you will find the Greater Columbus Antique Mall (1045 S. High St., 614-443-7858.)
The mall is a Victorian house with five floors filled with antiques for sale. Even if you’re not planning to buy anything, it’s a fantastic (and dog-friendly) place to visit, with seemingly endless displays of nearly anything you might want to collect. Some pieces are displayed on antique furniture (also for sale); with toys, lamps and books on top of desks or costume jewelry spilling out of open drawers. Others are in glass cabinets. Some are unlocked, encouraging customers to open them; others, the helpful staff will unlock if you ask.
You’ll find shelves of glassware, racks of vintage clothes, boxes of paper ephemera and stacks of architectural elements. Alcoves feel like hidden rooms. Stairwells are lined with prints, photographs and advertisements for sale. Antique appliances command attention. Fortunately, they’re usually labeled, or else their purposes might remain mysteries. Need a wallpaper cutter, perm machine or bonnet hair dryer? You can find one here!
Here are just a few of the things you might find.
There is nothing more satisfying than combining planned trips with unplanned antiques shopping and thrifting. On a recent trip to southern Ohio, I found a 10,000-square-foot venue called Spring Street Antique Mall, about 40 minutes north of Athens. Once in Athens, I found another treasure trove of browsing and shopping located in a previously empty old shopping mall. It is called Peddler’s Junction.
We ended up squeezing in three visits to the Spring Street store, which was surrounded by other stores such as an Amish furniture store, two clothing stores and an ice cream parlor. There was so much to see.
Top items of interest included: Polish Pottery, $54 for a platter; Fiestaware, various prices, but ranging from $24 for a creamer, $10 coffee mugs, $8 plates, $24 for bowls and $39 for a lapis-colored tree-shaped platter; a white cast iron garden bench, $140; and a birds-eye maple child’s pewter cupboard for $129.
I ended up being drawn to the colorful dinnerware and bought six plates and six bowls.
At the indoor mall in Athens — a great use for an empty shopping area — there were vintage typewriters, $19.50; Madame Alexander dolls still in their original boxes, $8 ; and a Fisher-Price Tick Tock Learning Clock, also $8. The clock was purely a nostalgia purchase. I owned the wind-up learning clock, which played the song “Grandfather’s Clock” when wound up. My parents gave it away when I was in college. I mourned it, but now have it back.
Above are some items from the Spring Street Antique Mall, 26782 US-33 #9604, Rockbridge, Ohio, and the Peddler’s Junction, 1002 E. State St., Athens, Ohio.
After a great visit to Bentonville, Arkansas, we headed to Oklahoma. To experience some history, we rode down Route 66 whenever possible. First stop, an antique store in Vinta right on Route 66. The store had everything collectible you could imagine, or, as they told us, “everything and more.” Next, we stopped in Bartlesville to look at a Frank Lloyd Wright skyscraper, the Price Tower — the only skyscraper that he ever built! It’s still in its original condition, including the original elevators which you can ride (if you aren’t claustrophobic). The building currently functions as an office space and hotel and is open to the public. On the way out of the building, local residents told us they hoped that we enjoyed the Wright skyscraper and proudly shared more information about notable buildings and events in Bartlesville.
Our next stop was Pawhuska, home of Food Network star Ree Drummond, or the “Pioneer Woman.” She has stores, restaurants and a hotel in town. We popped into the large mercantile mart right downtown. We had hoped to eat lunch there but the wait was 1 1/2 to 2 hours. So we went to her pizza restaurant instead, where we enjoyed fantastic salads
On certain days, visitors can go to the lodge where Drummond’s television show is filmed. We were lucky to be there on one of those days and didn’t want to miss it after driving so far. We drove another 30 minutes outside Pawhuska to check it out, and it was worth the visit! We got to see a big, beautiful view of the ranch, as well as the two kitchens and multiple pantries and bedrooms. Tip: If you are visiting the area and want to see the lodge, be sure to plan ahead and check the website to see if the lodge is open for tours on those days.
Our last stop was Tulsa, where we got to appreciate the city’s historic architecture. Tulsa has over 60 great Art Deco buildings that are worth seeing. You can do this through a guided or self-guided tour.
We went on this trip without expectations and everything we saw was well worth a visit. Everyone we encountered was welcoming and happy to see tourists. We can’t wait for our next trip!
We took a short excursion to Arkansas and Oklahoma to visit Bentonville, Tulsa and Pawhuska. Wow, what a trip! There was so much to see and do. Our only regret was that we didn’t have more time to explore the picturesque mountain towns in the Ozarks.
Bentonville isn’t the easiest place to get to by plane, so we flew into Tulsa and drove for two hours. Many of the towns along the drive had antique stores or malls. We even passed a gas station that sold “food, fuel and antiques”! We stopped at a large antiques mall right across the Oklahoma – Arkansas border and found lots of old everyday items such as Pyrex dishes, glass, toys and advertising signs at fair prices.
Bentonville, a town of about 55,000 residents with a growing population, is at the edge of the Ozark Mountains. It is a company town, home of the Walmart headquarters.
When we arrived at Bentonville, we were greeted by an old town square from the 1800s anchored by Sam Walton’s (the founder of Walmart) original five-and-dime store, Walton’s 5&10, which is now a museum. Surrounding stores and restaurants reflect the town’s young, vibrant culture. We also learned that the town is one of the top-rated mountain biking areas in the world, with over 500 miles of trails.
We walked from town to the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. The museum, funded by Alice Walton, Sam Walton’s daughter, is designed to give you the optimal view of the historical progress of American art in a setting that incorporates the beauty of the area. The project made every effort to use local materials and craftsmen. It holds a world-class collection of American art and a relocated Frank Lloyd Wright house, as well as five miles of trails with sculptures that surprise you around every bend.
Part 2, featuring our trip to Oklahoma, will appear in next month’s newsletter.
A COUPLE OF ANTIQUE STORE FINDS: