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Driving for Deco, Freakin’ ‘tiquen 2017 Part 2, Heading Home

Our next day was a whirlwind of sightseeing before heading back east.

The day started with Mount Rushmore. Essentially, you only pay for parking. The plaza and grounds are a self-directed tour and although crowded, the concourse is designed to handle the mass of people. We never felt closed in. Souvenirs are reasonable priced and Chris picked up a cap for less than $15. There is a museum in the lower level and a theater showing a short film about the design and construction of the monument.

After walking the path around the base of the mountain, it was lunchtime. We expected to be gouged and surprised that the food court offers a good variety of choices at more than reasonable prices. Our pot roast lunch, with  two sides and a drink was less than $7.00 each and delicious. .

A bit of a drive through, and just outside the park, is the Crazy Horse Monument.

Chris was here as a child and it hadn’t been started yet. This is not part of the National Park Service and is funded through private donations. The entrance fee is per person (three or more is a flat fee) and there is a charge to take their char-a-bunk to the base of the mountain. If you are interested to learn about Native American culture, they have an extensive museum. It is a work in progress and when complete, the grounds are destined to include a college campus open to anyone but offering a free education to Native Americans.

Tours to the work site at the top are available during the week.

There are actually two antique stores between Mt Rushmore and Crazy Horse. Of course, we stopped at each. Interesting but no purchases made.

Heading east, we made a quick stop at Wall Drug. (For those familiar with Pedro’s South of the Border on the east coast, Wall Drug is the equivalent tourist destination. Lots of souvenir shops and eateries.)

Soon we headed out to the Badlands of South Dakota. Not knowing what to expect, Anthony thought we’d drive straight through the nineteen or so miles along the northern ridge, take a few pictures and be on our way.

There is a fee to enter and the park clearly states that you can go off the designated path but are not responsible for injury or death. “Beware Rattlesnakes!” signs are posted at several points throughout the park. The roads are very well maintained, wide enough for campers to easily pass and designed with plenty of pull overs / pull offs to safely get out of the car and take in the sights. For the adventurous, camp grounds are available and there is a bison reserve further south in the heart of the park.

Over four hours later, we exited with hundreds of beautiful photos and great memories of a natural wonder.

The Badlands of South Dakota.

Yellow mounds in the Badlands.

Sunset in the Badlands.

Leaving the Badlands at sunset. It tool us over four hours to drive the 19 miles through the national park.

In all, a beautiful, hot, sunny, hot, long, hot, day. Our goal was to stay overnight at Al’s Oasis, a series of stores, restaurants, hotels and antique mall (Old West Trading Post) right off the highway. As all the hotels were booked, we ended up at the very nice and comfortable AmericInn a few towns over.

Bright and early, we hit the Old West Trading Post. We entered with low expectations of western gear and country goods. While they did carry those items, the majority was a vast mix of items of different eras and styles. They also had quite a bit of deco items and more than reasonable prices. We were tempted to buy more than we did. It is also much larger than it appears. Definitely a place to stop if you’re in the area.

Old West Trading Post Purchases

Another day of driving and we ended up at Antiques Minnesota, Burnsville, Minnesota. Purpose built as an antique mall in the late ‘80’s it is well designed with a good mix of merchandise with over 350 dealers. There were several items of interest and we purchased a repousse deco trinket box. The ladies on the counter were very friendly and told us about antique stores in Stillwater.

Chris at Antiques Minnesota, Inc.

Chris ready to do some hunting at Antiques Minnesota, Inc., just outside of Minneapolis.

Art Deco trinket box.

Metal Art Deco trinket box.

Following the advice from the staff at Antiques Minnesota, we drove to the Midtown Antique Mall in Stillwater. A large three-story building located in the heart of the city, it is well stocked and offers a plethora of merchandise at fair prices. We picked up two Fortune Magazines to add to Anthony’s growing collection and a lady’s travel case.

Stillwater, Minnesota and the Midtown Antique Mall.

The wonderful Midtown Antique Mall in Stillwater, Minnesota.

A traveling case.

A vintage traveling case.

In true Driving For Deco style an impromptu stop brought us to the Hixton Antique Mall, Hixton, Wisconsin. As it was late, the store was already closed but seemed to have promise. As there are four other malls close by, we decided to stay the night.

The next morning we arrived just as the mall opened. The layout is a bit odd as it is a converted school. There are some “hidden” rooms, nooks and crannies that begged to be explored. It is easy to get turned around here and we needed to do some back tracking to be sure we covered everything.  Many items at fair prices, Chris picked up a cute deco terrier statue, a Kensington casserole, and a deco-style polar bear statue. There were several other items we contemplated but ultimately passed on them. In all, a great find and well worth the stop.

Hixton Antique Mall.

Hixton Antique Mall. Hixton, Wisconsin

Deco terrier

Art Deco ceramic terrier picked up at the Hixton Antique Mall, Hixton, Wisconsin.

A few blocks away was Village Peddler. Not a lot of what we collect but we did pick up a couple of Harlequin saucers.

Still a few more blocks away and we arrived at Cobblestone Cottage. A strange mix of new decorator items in a well-appointed entrance and then a bare-bones warehouse style mall to the side. The only purchase was some delicious fudge to curb our appetite.

Down the road a bit and we arrived at Millers Antiques and Auction Company. It seemed geared more toward mid-century, and automotive collectibles.  We were tempted by an unusual etched glass accent lamp and a beautiful deco glass frame with a picture of Clark Gable but there were no bargains here. We left empty-handed.

Across the street was another store that just opened.  A former dinner club, they have wine tasting available for shoppers.  We don’t know if that is such a good mix. Please don’t drink and antique!

Back on the road we made it to original destination, Antique Mall of Tomah. A bright, clean, well laid out store with a variety of merchandise and fair prices. The staff was professional but unlike Antiques Minnesota, they lacked in a sense of humor. Anthony picked up a Eveready electric candle and Chris picked up a small lacquered deco box.

 

 

Another day down and long hours of driving, we were ready to pack it in for the night. Bright and early we were off again to visit an old friend.

Midland Arts & Antiques is a multi-level mall housed in an old factory and with little ventilation. Many of the dealers have thoughtfully provided fans to keep things comfortable. Prices are all over the place but we always manage to pick up a few things. This time, we walked away with two  Westinghouse leftover containers, a Kent sugar bowl and a colorful deco cardboard candy box.

Midland Antique Mall

Midland Art and Antique Mall in Indianapolis. Image from Google.

A not-so-easy drive across Indianapolis brought us to the Main Attraction Antique Mall. Medium sized with a friendly staff,  it is bright and attractively laid out with reasonably priced items. Unfortunately, there was nothing of interest for us and we walked away empty-handed.

Main Attraction Antique Mall

Main Attraction Antique Mall, Indianapolis, Indiana. Image from Facebook.

Another old friend, Exit 76 Antique Mall, was our next stop. This is a large mall and although we discussed many items we walked out with just a Harlequin saucer.  While checking out, the salesman asked where Chris was from. Ends up that the salesman once lived in the same area in New Jersey. It’s a small world.

Exit 76 Antique Mall

Exit 76 Antique Mall, Edinburgh, Indiana.

Next stop, Webbs, or rather, what was once Webbs. This store is under new management and now called Centerville Antique Mall. Large and on the rustic side, with lots of glassware and “smalls” at reasonable prices. Anthony purchased a couple of vintage Vanity Fair magazines and a deco painted humidor.

Off to Dayton, Ohio and the Antiques Village.  Our haul? Two bound volumes of 1948 Fortune Magazine (each with three magazines) for the price less than one would normally sell and a hard-to-find Kensington humidor. This is another large mall so be sure to have your walking shoes on. It was about this time our energy started to wane.

Antiques Village, Dayton.

Antiques Village in Dayton, Ohio. Image from Yelp.

Kensington Aluminum Humidor

Mid-1930s aluminum humidor designed by Lurelle Guild for Kensington. Image from 1st Dibs.

Our next adventure, the Ohio Valley Antique Mall just north of Cincinnati. This store has some of the best hours for shopping convenience, 9-9. We did well here taking home a 1937 Philco Bullet radio, Silex Lido coffeepot, one 1932 bound Fortune volume (six issue),  two 1940 bound Fortune volumes (three issues each) and two 1942 bound Fortune volume (three issues each).

Ohio Valley Antique Mall

Ohio Valley Antique Mall, just north of Cincinnati.

Though our plan was to hit The Heart of Ohio Antique Mall the next day, we decided to call it quits and head home. This was great trip filled with many memories of sightseeing and antiques as we went driving for deco.

Packing the car and heading home.

Calling it quits! Chris packing a very full car after being on the road for 12 days.

 

Chris & Anthony (The Freakin’, Tiquen’ Guys)

 

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Driving for Deco, “Freakin’ ‘Tiquen” Summer 2017

Hi-ho, its Driving for Deco we go! Or rather went. Our 2017 freakin’ ‘tiquen adventures took us points west.  To our surprise, we found quite a bit of deco items – more than we accounted for as proved by our packed car.  We managed to fit in a bit of sightseeing, as well.

We headed off to our first stop, and an old friend. The Craft and Antique Co-Op in Painesville, Ohio.

There is a good mix of items from old to new and deep sale prices up to 50% in some booths.  Chris picked up a large 1930’s Czech Toucan Pitcher (not on sale) and an amber Farber Cambridge decanter set.

From there, another old friend, The Medina Antique Mall. We love this place and are never disappointed. We got quite a haul here. Anthony purchased a vintage overcoat, a 1936 Canadian Parker Vacumatic fountain pen, a walnut and Bakelite box and a set of Susie Cooper Wedding Band soup bowls, vegetable bowls and plates.

Needing to rest and have a quick bite, we found this interesting building. Newer, it embodied some features reminiscent of the Art Deco style.

The next day brought us across the state to Maumee, Ohio. We found a “great find” at Great Finds In Maumee. Good prices and a good mix of items in a clean, organized and well-lit store.

Stop two for the day was the Maumee Antique Mall. This is a large store with vendors of varying prices and quality. Put your walking shoes on because you’ll be here for a while. A small café is available if you need a pick-me-up and we can recommend their delicious muffins.

Markle Exit 286 Antique Mall in Markle, Indiana is a little gem we found on our 2011 Freakin’ ‘tiquen trip. A nice selection, they had fewer items of interest for us this time around. Still, we walked away with a lovely frosted glass ball vase embossed with swallows, a vintage neck tie, and a pewter ashtray we attribute to Queens Art.

The next day was the Fourth of July and our visit to Indiana Dunes National Park and the Century of Progress Homes. Being a holiday, we used this as a travel day, heading off to Racine, Wisconsin.

The antiquing in Racine was a rollercoaster of variety and prices. We did well at the local Thrift store picking up set of Chrys, made in England, desert set and a Davenport Ironstone plate (Cypress, circa 1855).

Our next adventure was a tour of the SC Johnson Administration Building.  The tour brings visitors to various buildings designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The buildings designed in the 1930’s and 1940’s are Wright’s take on the International Style. Unfortunately, you can’t take pictures inside the buildings. Click Here for tour information.

FLW's Johnson's Wax Building, Racine, Wisconsin.

Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1939 S.C. Johnson Administration Building and 1950 research tower. Cherokee Red brick and clear plastic tubing.

After our tour, more antiquing. We didn’t do as well at the appropriately named School Days Mall Antiques & Speciality Shops. Located in an old school building, it held some promise with a variety of item but at premium prices. The few items of interest were marked “firm”. We walked away empty-handed.

As it was still early, we headed out to Always Remember That Antique Mall but got distracted and stopped at Benson Antique Mall. One half of two malls separated by a parking lot, Benson proved to be real gem. Anthony found three pieces (casserole, large creamer and pie plate) of Royal Rochester in the hard-to-find Modernistic pattern. Already priced to sell, they were an additional 20% off. Chris picked up an Oven-Serve casserole in the Clematis pattern. We passed on a well-priced pair of Nu-Art elephant bookends and a fair priced but well-worn cane wrapped handled Manning-Bowman cocktail shaker. Upon checkout, the vendor who sold the Royal Rochester informed us she had more of the pattern at another near-by location.

The sister store? A huge disappointment of used contemporary items and collectibles of a dubious nature.

Yet another detour brought us to Great Lake Antiques and Boutique in Antioch Illinois. As promised, the vendor had a nice selection of the Royal Rochester Modernistic. Key word is “had” as the waffle iron, large sugar, small creamer / sugar, batter bowl and another casserole came home with us. Although a significant investment, the total price for all pieces equaled to less than the current asking price for the batter bowl on popular auction site. We also picked up 6 Chase cordial cups in excellent condition for a song.

We finally made it to our original destination for the day, Always Remember That Antique Mall. Chris picked up a serving platter, mixing bowl and casserole in the Clematis pattern.

Our next stop was the Carousel Consignments in Janesville, Wisconsin. With a vast variety of items on closely packed shelves there is something for everybody in this two-story shop. Looking for china, glassware, clocks, vintage / contemporary picture frames and more? This is the stop to make. We purchased an etched glass deco serving tray, vintage photoplay book, and several neckties. Two more stores, one next door and the other across the street were interesting.

Further west and we came across Dakota Plains Antiques & Collectibles, in Sioux Falls. Lots to see here and extremely fair prices. Our best find was a near mint Toast-O-Lator, model J for $10. These are not particularly difficult to find but are usually $145 and up. Toast-O-Lator’s move an up-right slice of bread along a conveyor system to drop gently onto an awaiting plate at the on the other end. More often than not, the bread  gets stuck inside and soon after, flames are shooting out the ends. Ours is for show!

Two other Antique malls are nearby. One had a thrift store vibe and we picked up a very nice silhouette. The other held promise and was interesting but nothing grabbed us and prices ranged from the high-end of fair to high.

Driving through South Dakota was a challenge as we drove along the edge of a bad storm system. Looking outside the driver’s window was a solid sheet of grey. Looking through the passenger window was spectacular.

Follow us on part 2 of our 2017 Freakin’ ‘tiquen and a whirlwind of  sightseeing starting with Mount Rushmore and more antiquing adventures!

Chris & Anthony (The Freakin’ Tiquen’ Guys)

 

If you enjoyed this post, you might also enjoy these earlier posts:

Antique stores, Barnegat through Smithville, NJ

Springing into the 2017 “Freakin’, Tiquen’” season

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Reference Library Update – Modern Interior Decoration, Basil Ionides

This reference library installment is an article by Scottish architect and interior designer Basil Ionides (1884-1950). Appearing in the May, 1929 issue of Creative Art magazine, Ionides expounds on his theories of what makes modern design worthwhile and long-lasting. Within the five-page article are photos of the his work at the Savoy and Claridge’s among other interiors.

To read the article click on the magazine cover below.

May, 1929 Creative Art magazine.

Creative Art magazine, May, 1929. Featuring Basil Ionides article on modern interior design.

 

Anthony & Chris (The Freakin’, Tiquen’ Guys)

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The 1933-1934 Century of Progress Homes

On our Freakin’,’Tiquen 2017 vacation, we visited the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore to see five examples of the Century of Progress homes from the 1933-1934 Chicago World’s Fair.

Century of Progress Historic District

After the fair closed, several of the exhibit houses were purchased by Robert Bartlett. His intention was to keep them as perpetual exhibits and to intrest potential buyers in his development, Beverly Shores. Two of the houses were transported to the site by truck; the others were floated by barge from the fair site to the Indiana shore.

Moving the Wieboldt-Rostone House image form Library of Congress

The five houses are:

Cypress Log Cabin

The Cypress Log Cabin

The Cypress Log Cabin

 

House of Tomorrow

America’s First Glass House

The House of Tomorrow – currently under restoration

Armco-Ferro House

The Armco-Ferro House

The Armco-Ferro House

Florida Tropical House

The Florida Tropical House

The Florida Tropical House

Wieboldt-Rostone House

The Wieboldt-Rostone House

The Wieboldt-Rostone House

Access to the park where the houses are located is free. Be aware of frequent and sometimes hidden STOP signs. Parking is limited but there is 15 minute parking available in front of the houses.

A Century of Progress

Today, the houses are leased by the Park Service to private tenants. The houses are undergoing a complete restoration to return them to their 1933 appearance. Tours are given once a year in October and reservations are required. For information about park hours and tour information, click HERE.

Anthony & Chris (The Freakin’, ‘Tiquen Guys)

 

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