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ARLIS/NA
29th Annual Conference |
Antique
Fairs, Flea Markets, Swap Meets and Antique Malls
There is a flea market of
some kind happening somewhere in the greater LA area every weekend. There are a number of free publications
that list them in detail (Collector and West Coast Peddler) so I’m just
going to list those I know the most about. All of them sell things that I would call antique, vintage,
collectible, used, and junk.
I’ve been told prices are higher here in Los Angeles than they are
elsewhere so I’m going to list a few things I’ve purchased in each
place in the last year or so to give you a better idea of what you are up
against. I think bargains are to
be had anywhere you look, sometimes you just get lucky.
Pasadena City College –
held the first Sunday of every month in the parking lot of the college on Hill
Ave. between Colorado Blvd. and Del Mar Blvd. Map and directions at:
http://www.paccd.cc.ca.us/directory/maps-dir.htm
Admission and parking are
free. There is a large record area
for those of you into vinyl.
Recent purchases included Franciscan Apple cups and saucers at $7 each,
vintage keys at a quarter a piece (cheapest I ever saw them), roll of vintage
lace ribbon for $1.
Rose Bowl – held the
second Sunday of every month in the area surrounding the Bowl itself. Map and directions at: http://www.rosebowlstadium.com/directions.htm
Admission determined by how
early you want to get there, after 9 a.m. the price is $6, before that it runs
$10 (after 7:30 a.m.) and $15 (between 6-7:30 a.m.). This place is huge and has new items as well. The new stuff is generally located in
the area around the bowl and the older stuff is in the adjacent parking lots. I haven’t been in years, it
always seems more daunting than the others, but there is just so much here that
you can easily find whatever you are looking for. A number of years ago I decided that I must have a copper
craftsman piece and on my very next trip to the Rose Bowl I picked up a beauty
of a hinged cigarette case with palm trees on it, $15.
Long Beach Veterans Stadium
– held on the third Sunday of every month in the stadium parking
lot. Map and directions at: http://www.longbeachantiquemarket.com/promoter/p_mapdir.cfm?vid=2
Admission is $4.50 and early
birds can get in before 6:30 a.m. for $10. My last purchases included 3 Bauer cups and saucers at $8
each.
Santa Monica Airport –
held on the fourth Sunday of every month in the parking lot of the airport off
of Bundy Ave. It doesn’t
have its own website but filmbiz.com has an excellent list of greater LA area
flea markets complete with maps for this one and others at: http://www.filmbiz.com/resource/Flea_Markets_And_Swap_Meets.html
Admission is $4 and parking
is free. Prices generally tend to
be higher here than at other places due to its location. Many vendors set up very attractive
selling areas. Bargains can still
be had. On my last visit I picked
up a vintage cast iron boot scraper in the shape of a cat (back and front) for
$14. After you’ve shopped I
recommend eating at the Spitfire Grill, located directly across from the
entrance.
In addition to those listed
above the Melrose Trading Post takes place every Sunday at the corner of
Fairfax and Melrose. It’s a
smaller flea market and includes import items (mostly from Mexico) and handmade
things as well. My last purchase
there was some very nice pillar candles at significantly less than I’d
ever have to pay in a regular retail establishment. The Glendale Antiques Show
is on the first Sunday of the month indoors at 1500 N. Verdugo Rd. in
Glendale. Admission is $4 (I
think) and there is a fee for parking as well. In December I purchased an entire display box of vintage
Christmas cards for $25, 64 cards in all and in 8 styles. The filmbiz.com link above has maps for
both of these.
There are number of antique
malls throughout the city, far too many to list all. One of the largest is the Antique Guild at the corner of
Helms Ave. and Venice Blvd. See
the map and directions at: http://www.theantiqueguild.com/directions.html
The Antique Guild is on the
site of the former Helms Bakery and includes a large showcase section in
addition to the regular selling floor.
Pasadena has a quite a few antique malls, a number of them are located
on So. Fair Oaks Ave. within easy distance of each other. Santa Monica, West Los Angeles and
Westchester all have antique malls as well. And in keeping with antique malls in interesting settings,
Carson has a very large antique mall called Memory Lanes, a former bowling
alley.
