everything must go

May 7, 2020 8:47 AM

The Cast of Characters at Chelsea’s Legendary Flea Market. Michael Rips writes about the people in the Antiques Garage (closed 2014) of the Chelsea Flea Market (closed 2019) in New York City. "He became so obsessed with collecting certain species of objects, of whose existence he first learned at the flea, that he would periodically have to put the collection in storage and issue himself an edict against approaching Sixth Avenue. He enjoyed the funding and leisure time to become a full-time flea-market rat without also becoming a picker or a vendor."

The markets had been losing ground to re-development for decades. Or will it return?

posted by the man of twists and turns (4 comments total)

Thanks for this post. My dad was a regular dealer at the 26th & 6th market (the original Annex, long gone - pictured at the first link), and the Garage in it's early days - the 80s and early 90s. I spent my childhood weekends in the city at these markets - it was an incredible education, to say the least. "Cast of Characters" is a charming understatement.
posted by niicholas at 9:39 AM on May 7, 2020 [1 favorite]

Brings to mind the markets in Paris Vagabond, which are rather grimmer.
posted by praemunire at 10:12 AM on May 7, 2020

This is great, and now I want to read the author’s book from which it’s excerpted. (Flea markets are also one of the things I most miss right now.)
posted by nightrecordings at 2:15 PM on May 7, 2020

In 2013 the guy I was dating moved from Baltimore to New York for a job, and for a year I took the Megabus up every few weeks to spend a weekend with him. The bus let you out right next to FIT, so I would pop in to the FIT museum if there was a new exhibit, then drag my little wheelie suitcase around the corner to the Chelsea Garage, to look at all the vintage clothing and jewelry and the other odds and ends that were relevant to my interests. Once I was done there, I would get on the subway to my ex's apartment.

In retrospect, that relationship lasted a lot longer than it would have if I hadn't had that market to look forward to every visit.
posted by nonasuch at 11:53 AM on May 8, 2020 [1 favorite]