Cover story

One man’s trash trash

A driving tour of vintage and antique dealers

BY ANDY STOUT

Special to The News-Post Y You may find yourself singing the immortal words of the Black Eyed Peas — “Whatcha gon’ do with all that junk? All that junk inside your trunk?” — after a day of hitting one of the following bona fide treasure troves of vintage and antique goods in Frederick and its surrounding burgs. The array of treasures is immense, and the possibilities seem endless.

I’ve been told not to refer to antiques as “junk,” and certainly would never do so to disparage antiques or anything else one has in one’s trunk, for that matter, but we all know that one person’s trash is another person’s treasure. There are entire social media pages devoted to cool old stuff that someone decided to toss out because they thought it was useless junk, and someone else loved it and took it home.

Regardless of what you call it, you’ll most definitely be sure to find it at one of seven antique malls and shops in the area. From items that cost a few bucks to items that cost thousands, you can spend an entire day shopping in Frederick or making a short drive to browse antiques at some of the region’s best dealers.

Generally speaking, residents of Frederick appear to have an appreciation of old stuff. The city has a great deal of history connected to it and is full of wonderful old homes and buildings that all need furnishings and décor to put inside them. A great way to furnish or decorate a historic, industrial or mid-century modern period building is to shop one of the region’s antique stores and malls. They can be fun places to find anything from vintage home décor, art, militaria, automotive accessories, furniture, toys, books, clothes, tools, signage and so much more.

As an added perk, local antique stores and malls are independently owned and operated, so your money is going to a local resident and staying in the local economy. Plus, shopping for antiques creates less waste and is environmentally friendly, because instead of buying a new product, you are re-using an old one (you can at least tell your spouse this if you need to further justify one of your purchases).

Besides, anyone can decorate or furnish a home with the same Target swag that everyone else has, or you could get a one-of-a-kind item. It really is amazing how a single statement piece like a vintage sign, piece of furniture or set of vintage lights can make a room or outdoor space come together in a unique way.

In addition to the practical purpose of buying something you need, antique outings can make for a fun rainyday activity or a weekend day trip. With centuries’ worth of stuff to choose from, from obscure oddities to fine antiquities and everything in between, there is literally something for everyone in our region.

This is not meant to be a comprehensive list but rather a primer to help get you started on your own antique road trip. You could spend an entire day or more at any one of these locations. So: Don’t over do it. I personally can only handle a few hours at a time looking at old stuff. Most of the places referenced here have a lot of it. Tonage. Pace yourself. Pacing yourself is key.

Residents of the city of Frederick can simply bounce around town to one of the several antique shops and malls here. Four notable places to visit in the city — that between them could easily swallow several weekends of one’s time — are Old Glory Antique Market Place, Cannon Hill Place, Vintage MC and Emporium Antiques.

Old Glory Antique Market Place is a great place to start an antiquing adventure. In business nearly 30 years and featuring more than 110 antique dealers, Old Glory stocks an assortment of militaria, clothing, records, African art, toys, jewelry, furniture and bric-a-brac of all types.

Old Glory employee Amy Belote said one of the most enjoyable things about working at Old Glory is “just seeing what people bring up to the counter. Some of it I wonder what they are thinking. Other times, I’m so impressed with people’s vision for the things they buy here.”

She meets a lot of interesting people at her job, she said, and they come from all over, some spending more than one day in town. Despite the staggering variety of items, when asked what the biggest seller was, Belote paused for a moment and said, “Probably, Pyrex glass.”

In downtown Frederick, there are several places within walking distance of one another. Vintage MC and Emporium Antiques are both on East Patrick Street, and Cannon Hill Place is just around the corner on South Carroll Street.

Cannon Hill Place is believed to be Frederick’s oldest antique mall. The mall is housed in a large old stone granary building, which is itself an antique at over 200 years old. The building helps set the ambiance for antiquing, and the prospect of finding a unique piece from a bygone era seems high. Forty dealers are spread across two floors, with a variety of antiques at reasonable prices. There are a lot of

nooks and crannies within the old granary building, so first-time visitors should take their time to explore and look around.

Vintage MC resembles a typical retail store and is fairly niche specific, with a specifically mid-century modern focus. You can find furnishings and décor from this time period here, from items that cost a few bucks to a swanky, $1,395 Danish teak secretary vanity. While mid-century modern period items can be found at all of the locations mentioned in this story, Vintage MC is always a sure thing when it comes to seeking out specifically mid-century modern items. That’s what the MC stands for in the store’s name.

Emporium Antiques includes more than 100 dealers. It is expansive with a good variety. Every time you think you’ve reached the end, somehow there is more store. Housed in a 55,000-square-foot brick building built in 1912 as the Ideal Garage Company, Emporium Antiques, which opened in 1987, is open seven days a week and reportedly does more than $2 million in annual sales to locals and international visitors.

If you want to go farther afield, take a half-hour drive outside of Frederick and head north to The Emmitsburg Antique Mall in downtown Emmitsburg. The building itself is large, brown and unassuming, but within it is “the largest, cleanest and friendliest antique mall in the Gettysburg/Frederick area,” according to its website.

The facility features 34,000 square feet of antiques and collectibles with more than 130 booths of antique vendors. You could easily spend an entire day browsing this warehouse. Most of what you will find are antiques, but there is also a wide assortment of other items, like candy and modern toys and decorations, that help to mix things up a bit. I nearly always leave with one item from the Emmitsburg Antique Mall, and that probably has something to do with the large volume of stuff there is to

If you go

Old Glory Antique Market Place

5862 Urbana Pike, Frederick 301-662-9173

Cannon Hill Place

111 S. Carroll St., Frederick 301-695-9304

Vintage MC

24 E. Patrick St., Frederick 240-514-8623

Emporium Antiques

112 E. Patrick St., Frederick 301-662-7099

Emmitsburg Antique Mall

1 Chesapeake Ave., Emmitsburg 301-447-6471

Beaver Creek Antique Market

20202 National Pike, Hagerstown 301-739-8075

Antique Crossroads

20150 National Pike, Hagerstown 301-739-0858

Junkworks Antiques

125 E. Baltimore St., Hagerstown 304-702-3813

Junkworks Antiques owners, from left, brothers Josh and Dan Goldman in their eclectic antique and treasure shop on East Baltimore Street in Hagerstown.

Staff photo by Bill Green

choose from.

Moving on, drive 30 minutes west of Frederick on scenic U.S. 40, and you’ll arrive at the Beaver Creek Antique Market and Antique Crossroads, located directly next door to one another, on the outskirts of Hagerstown.

The Beaver Creek Antique Market and Antique Crossroads are reminiscent of the Emmitsburg Antique Mall in their massive quantity and assortment of historic items spanning rows of individual booths. Beaver Creek has one of the most interesting selections of local historical items, too, especially material from Hagerstown. This is another fun factor about visiting local antique stores: You also get a lesson in local history while you shop.

Continuing on into downtown Hagerstown, you can conclude your antiquing road trip at one of the region’s most unique vintage stores, Junkworks Antiques. Housed in a massive building that was once home to a Hagerstown toy store called, Juvenile Sales; Junkworks is not like the other antique stores, to put it mildly. There are no booths here. No multiple vendors. This truly massive hoard of thoughtfully curated antiquity is all the result of the hard work of brothers Josh and Dan Goldman. The brothers have an amazing eye for picking and staging great pieces. They also aren’t afraid to get dirty and can often be found out “picking” the region’s old farmsteads and long-gone businesses, to find new items for the store.

Andy Stout is an anthropologist and writer interested in community, culture, music, the arts, history and conservation. He has written dozens of articles in local, regional and national publications covering a variety of topics. He has lived in the city of Frederick for over 25 years.