I’d been asking locals on the south side of Indianapolis where to go antique shopping. Midlands Antique Mall, they said, is a four-story building and you’ll love it! So early this morning I set my GPS and drove off.
“Exit 111 on Washington Street,” my GPS instructed, and so I veered off the highway. This wasn’t the kind of place you’d want to be on foot. Old brick buildings painted with graffiti. Broken windows. Skulking pedestrians. The rough pavement and almost empty streets gave me the feeling I was one of the only souls brave enough for this jungle, especially at 10:00 a.m.
“Your destination is on the left,” the GPS informed me, pointing down an alley between two huge factory buildings. Shaking my head, but determined to at least see my destination, I turned into the alley.
At the end of the alley stood a massive four-story building, and I knew without a doubt: this was Midlands Antiques! But… This was nothing like I imagined it! The building was an abandoned factory, complete with rusted loading docks on one end and a huge tangle of vines on the other. I couldn’t see another living soul anywhere. There were exactly two cars in the expansive parking lot.
Well, the internet had said Midlands Antiques opens at 10:00, and it was that time now. So I parked my car, glanced all around for muggers and thug-type people, and looked for an entrance.
Neither of the front doors looked like they’d open, but the one covered with a resolute iron grate had a sign which said “please use other door” so I pulled it open… And walked into wonderland.
No offense to adorable Southport, but I could tell I’d finally found where serious antiques came to live. These pieces had been carefully valued, selected and traded… And there were four stories in this building. I started giggling.
In the end, I limited myself to one small purchase: a letter-opener for my collection. About nine inches long, gorgeous engraving on the handle, shaped like a miniature sword, I’d fallen in love right away. The effervescent Greg, at the counter wrapping it, sassed me: “All these amazing things, and you just take home one little letter opener?”
I grinned at him. “Oh, I’ll be back,” I said.
I’ll call it paradise so that when I say, “I’m going to paradise again” everyone knows exactly where I’ll be: time traveling through relics of bygone decades.
