PITTSBURG, Kan. —
The cool thing about three new Pittsburg stores is if you want vinyl records, or vintage costume jewelry, or a silver tea service, or an elegant velvet settee, you can find them downtown.
And part of the fun is sleuthing them out. The stores are antique shops, part of an already robust list of places in the Pittsburg area that specialize in selling age-old treasures. I spent time in each last week to see if there were any treasures I just couldn’t live without.
Main Street USA is in the former Ernie Williamson Music Store at 408 N. Broadway. With exposed brick walls and an eclectic vibe, it lives up to its tag line: “Antiques and Retro, Junk and Java.”
The shop already has generated appeal as a local hangout thanks to the coffee shop in the back. The owners, Tim and Christy Corn, hope to add acoustic music and poetry in the evenings — their son is a classical guitarist — and the Pittsburg Coffee Club has used the “Friends”-like coffee shop atmosphere as a meeting spot.
I purchased a neat hardback book to give to my husband and sons, called, appropriately, “A Boy’s Summer: Fathers and Sons Together,” and it was a bargain at $3. But I’m harboring a secret desire to return to the store and purchase a few things I want but don’t need: a couple of old metal street signs to add to my kitchen collection.
A block north at 513 N. Broadway, Dapper Antiques makes use of a space formerly used by the upscale department store Little’s Inc. The architecture lends itself well to proprietor Larry Black’s display of elegant antique furniture — and, yes, that’s the place to find silver tea services and velvet settees.
I was particularly taken by an 1873 Collard piano with Viennese action, made of rosewood, although I didn’t dare look at the price tag. Still, it was fun to admire it.
Joplin residents will remember Black as the proprietor of the former Connor House Gallery on Main Street in downtown Joplin. His Pittsburg store is aptly billed as “a showroom of fine antiques.”
A few blocks south, Found It! Antiques and Collectibles, 212 S. Broadway, also lives up to its tag line: “You’ve looked for it, we’ve found it!”
Owner Cathy Clouston has filled the space with unique items that will appeal to a variety of collectors: vinyl records, political buttons, vintage costume jewelry, a World War I helmet (with bullet hole).
She also let me know when I walked in the door that she’s willing to discuss the prices marked on most items.
I can’t stop thinking about a pair of studio theater seats from Pittsburg State University I saw there that are in beautiful condition. I may enact my antique shopping mantra, which is: “If I return and they still are there, it was meant to be. If not, oh well.”
Clouston also developed a brochure of all antique stores, collectible shops and flea markets in the Pittsburg, Frontenac and Arma area. It’s available at all such shops throughout the area.
If you visit any of them and find a bargain, a unique item you’ve waited your entire life to find or just something that makes you smile, drop me a line or send me a photo. Fellow antiquers always love stories of a great discovery.
Follow Andra Stefanoni on Facebook at facebook.com/andrajournalist and on Twitter @AndraStefanoni.
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Andra Bryan Stefanoni: Treasures abound in Pittsburg antique shops
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