ANTIQUING

 

We almost drive by our favorite antique store on the way home.

 Suyen took the day off today. Todays daytrip is planned by her.  Suyens favorite thing to do is shop. She doesn't much like walking around towns looking at old buildings. Antique stores are something of a compromise.

Rivermarket Antiques is probably our most favorite store to visit. There is a huge variety on four floors that seems to change everytime we come. I personally love mid-century modern stuff, and there is a lot of it here. Theres a good variety of deco, too. 

A little bit of googie on the outside of Rivermarket Antiques

Tiki Mugs

This sign would look good in a coffeehouse

This is actually a suitcase that folds out into a little table

Mid century diner chairs and booths

The best antique stores to me are the ones that seem to be the most chaotic

Rivermarket Antiques -- someone there remembers the 'quay,' this antique mall has been around that long, I'm sure. The corner of Kansas City that includes Rivermarket Antiques seems to have changed little since the 1960's. I know in reality it has changed a lot. At one time this area wher Kansas City got its start was a nearly abandoned skid row. Kansas City by the 1940's had turned its back on the river. A wealthy entrepreneur by the name of Marion Trozzolo bought up many of the abandoned buildings and started offering the spaces cheap to artists and small business people. The River Quay (pronounced key) as the area came to be called soon had a reputation as the Greenwhich Village of the west. Then in the mid 70's a change in city ordinances and a fight over a city owned parking lot erupted into violence between warring factions. With a lot of bad press, the reputation of the area quickly declined until, by 1977, the River Quay had virtually gone back to being a ghost town. There's a lot of those in Kansas City. Redevelopment in the 80's and 90's begat the citizens of KC the River Market. It just isn't quite the same. I want the old River Quay back, but it seems that uttering that phrase in this city is like evoking the devil, or something. Rivermarket Antiques is like a taste of the old quay, at least in spirit.

River Quay -- a dirty phrase in Kansas City?

Dinner at Cafe Al Dente

A funny thing happened on the way out the door.  As I was leaving, I thought 'what the hell.... I'll take a picture of the wanted poster on the wall. I'll post it on my blog as a community service.' The guy in the picture is wanted for breaking into a locked cabinet in an antique store and stealing about $4000.00 worth of stuff. No sooner than I did that, this guy walked in who looked just like the guy in the flier. Granted it is a digitized black and white scan of a video image, but I alerted the staff. I'm probably a douche for doing that, but you never know. 

This guy is wanted for stealing Jewelry

 

- 2011/08/04 Thursday 15:23:14  THE STOCK MARKET CRASHED ABOUT 23 MINUTES AGO

Brass Armadillo is another fave of ours. We used to go here a lot when we lived in Bates City. Since we got a late start as usual, Brass Armadillo has another advantage over other antique places; its hours. This one is open until 9. Sometimes there is a surprise in the things encountered in these places.

Brass Armadillo in Grain Valley, Missouri

Unique form of art

You can own your own pulpit

You can see it in the store, but you have to go online to bid on it

How about some hand crafted furniture?

Heading back home on I-70

We ended our evening at YJ's