By Barbara Arnstein
Salamanca Mall Antiques in Salamanca, NY has the biggest and best assortment of interesting items you’ve ever seen, and there are new items arriving all the time, thanks to the thousand-plus vendors there. Salamanca Antiques Mall was established in 1998. Since then, it has grown to be one of the finest and largest Antique Malls in the country boasting an impressive 60,000 square foot marketplace. The categories of items include painting and prints, furniture and furnishings, jewelry and coins and more.
Last Sunday I entered the mall for the first time, and discovered there are two ways of browsing there. The first way is to roam up and down the many aisles of display cases writing down the numbers of items you’re interested in, and then alert a store employee to unlock the cases where they are. The other way is to stroll amidst the many booths and check out the items on tables, shelves and racks (guarded by cameras) and then bring the ones you want to buy to the checkout counter yourself.
I was so impressed by the variety of items, that I challenged myself to look at as many as possible in one day, in order to fill you in on what’s there now.
I saw:
Countless figurines of anthropomorphic animals. angels and cute cherubs. Elegant mirrors. Native American dolls galore. Duck mugs and prints, A cowboy and a cat holding salt and pepper shakers, and items featuring Popeye and Mr. Peanut. Patchwork quilts, and pinback political buttons. One booth is teeming with brightly colored Fiesta Ware, and there are juice glasses adorned with characters in various booths. There are record albums, old cameras, lots of leather handbags, and hardcover and paperback books on a vast assortment of subjects. The historical items include a framed poster promoting Liberty Bonds. There are super hero comics, and vintage clothes. Holiday wreaths, woven baskets, and butterfly yard decorations. A ceramic woman with a parasol walking a whippet. A set of plates with cherry, apple, pear and plum pictures. Assorted board games.
To give you an idea of the variety of items in some booths, here’s just some of what’s in one of them: a pink ceramic mule pulling a plow, a blue glass vase, a carved wooden box with bluebirds on top, two tall lamps with pink shades, a wooden giraffe, a framed print of a moonlit seascape, a horse and rider made of metal, cookie jars, and decorative plates.
Throughout the day, I heard several people exploring the store begin sentences with the phrases “My grandmother had one of those…” and “My mother had one of those…”. Happily, part of a conversation I overheard went like this, “Wow! I’ve been looking for one of those for a long time!” “Well, that will be my gift! Happy Birthday!” Mothers brought kids to browse through the toys.
Salamanca Mall Antiques is located at 100 Main Street in Salamanca, NY. It is open 362 days a year, from 10am-6pm. Everything over $10 is always 20% off. Renting a booth space costs $155 a month and display space in a case costs $45 a month. The spaces are so popular, that there is a waiting list. For more info, call (716) 945-5532. There are three sister stores: Henrietta Mall Antiques and Irondequoit Mall Antiques in Rochester, NY; and Ontario Mall Antiques in Farmington, NY.