(Located at Broadway and 9th)
There are some places in this world where reality is ever so slightly altered; waiting rooms, the lighting department at any hardware store, Starbucks. I think it has something to do with the fact that they are places that don't have an anchor in reality, instead they are the in-between, the spaces we slip through where time means something different, but I'm getting away from myself. I did not sit down to write about altered realities, though now it feels like I have and we're all going to be disappointed. Of these places where I feel like I am looking at the world through a fractured lens there no place where where reality seems more jarringly altered than at an antique store.
It's like antique stores are where all of the time streams come together and get tangled up. I'm surprised there aren't more episodes of Doctor Who that take place in antique stores for that reason. You walk through and for a moment you are pretty sure you are in the mid-90s then you turn a corner and suddenly it is 1850, you don't know how you got there (then?) and there's a basket of doll heads staring at you.
Forget every other time I have said it, that is how I die.
At least, that's how I feel when I go antiquing, other people who have watched less science fiction might experience it differently. There is nowhere I can remember feeling more like that than in the Tacoma Antique district.
Tacoma is already kind of a weird place, with it's ghost tours and high school casually residing in an actual castle, then you head downtown to explore the antique district and all bets are off. When I went with my friends, Caitlin and Andrea, we started off slow. We went into one or two smaller shops specializing in jewelry and trinkets, nothing too overwhelming, then into a larger store with narrow lanes weaving between stacks of hundred year old furniture. A curmudgeonly man followed us for a few turns explaining the historic importance of pieces and correcting me when I dared to use the word "couch" instead of "settee." Then we walked over to the shop Caitlin referred to as "the main event." A three store building that mostly housed a large antique store as well as a few consignment shops, strange art installations, and a 1920s car, the kind that made Andrea lean against the hood and say "to the stars, Jack."
Caitlin stopped me as I reached for the double doors, throwing an arm in front of me. "We have to take a moment and mentally prepare before we go in."
It was about 40 degrees out and I had insisted on leaving my coat at home in a fit of late November stubbornness. I wasn't really up for waiting but I did while Caitlin and Andrea took three deep breaths.
OH MY! We should have taken for deep breaths.
This place is huge and overflowing with things to look at. Mirrors with advertisements from long gone shops etched into the glass, walls built for the sole purpose of displaying stained glass windows, two story bookshelves with library ladders and spiral staircases, and a huge staircase with the most perfect banister for sliding down that you ever did see.
Unlike most antique stores I've been to this was not crowded. It wasn't a jumble of things you have to sift through to find the treasures buried under stacks of dime store romances and Hallmark ornaments from the late 80s. This shop had room to spread out and display everything properly, which just made it more overwhelming. I have never felt more like I had just walked into an episode of Doctor Who or more in danger of accidentally picking up a piece of alien technology in my life. I also don't think I have ever wanted to just do a random photo shoot more in my life.
The thing you have to remember when trying to be a hometown tourist, or just trying to explore your home a bit more, is that it is okay to get excited and to take pictures. In fact, that is something to remember no matter where you are and what you are doing, especially if you are exploring photography. It is OKAY to be excited and take pictures. Tourists are annoying because they are excited and taking pictures. It is okay. Put down your inhibitions, they will be there when you get back and climb up on that library ladder for a great shot, I know it is all you've wanted to do since you were five.
That is exactly what I did with Caitlin and Andrea. We put down our inhibitions for a minute and decided to just enjoy and experience all of the art and interest around us.
Okay, I know that antique stores are not exactly the most glamorous of tourist destinations, even in Tacoma, but I also think there isn't any other place that invites you to experience so deeply as an antique store will. That is what travel and exploration seems to be most about, experiencing everything around you.
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