Spring Garden Indoor Antique & Vintage Market
9th & Spring Garden

By Nicole Contosta
Staff Reporter Weekly Press of Philadelphia

There’s more to shopping at vintage or antique shops than simply purchasing
Victorian era furniture or retro go-go boots.

As any veteran shopper knows, the mere experience of shopping often produces as much enjoyment as acquiring the item itself. And shopping at vintage and antique shops creates yet another layer of delight. Aside from deriving pleasure in imagining how a couch or painting will compliment your residence, there’s the fact that the item has a history. That French print advertising Pernod, circa the 1930’s may have once hung in a young woman’s first adult apartment. And that set of turn of the century handmade wood rocking chairs may have once sat on a farmhouse’s front porch during the Great Depression.

In many ways, shopping at a vintage or antique shop offers a snap shot into
the past. It isn’t that dissimilar from walking through various period rooms
at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. And when it comes to the Phila Flea
Market, open every Saturday Now Thru March from 8 a.m. til 4 p.m. at its location on 9th and Spring Garden, this sentiment proves especially true. With over 60 vendors each week, shoppers can stroll past a wide variety of clothing, jewelry, glassware, collectibles and furniture from different eras before making
their final selections. Some of its items, such as the distressed furniture
appeal to shoppers who like to furnish their apartments with "shabby sheik
items." Since many of the vendors change on a frequent basis, shoppers don’t
get bored with the same items every week. And if they become hungry, they
can have lunch from one of its two food trucks, Lou’s Food Grill from the
food distribution center at 3rd and Packer or Big Dan’s Deli at 8th and
Oregon, explains the Phila Flea Market’s coordinator, Tony Soprano, who
describes both vendors "as great."

While its referred to as a flea market, Soprano stresses the fact that the
Spring Garden market doesn’t sell "new items or any of the traditional
bric-a-brac house ware items found at traditional flea markets," Soprano
explained, clarifying that "those items are not sold at the indoor market at
9th and Spring Garden. However, "you will see some of that at the outdoor
flea markets we host May through October." Soprano’s comment refers to the
ten outdoor flea markets it hosts at five different locations. Each market
will be held twice at the same location in May and June and repeating again
in September and October. "We take July and August off because it’s too
hot," Soprano said, explaining that "that not as many people come out and
our vendors literally melt in the sun." The five outdoor flea markets are
held on 10th and South, 3rd and Pine, Head House Square, Jefferson Square
Park at 4th and Washington as well as the Penitentiary at 22nd and
Fairmount, which Soprano describes as our "Superbowl of flea markets, we
have over 175 vendors, many of the travel from as far as New York City and
Washington DC." According to Soprano, many of Phila Flea Market vendors own
their own vintage and boutique shops.

For the lovers of vintage and antique apparel, the Phila Flea Market has had
a rich history in the city of Brotherly Love. It all began twenty-five years
ago when Soprano, as treasurer of his condo association, needed to raise
money. As luck would have it, the parking lot across the street from his
condominium at 23rd and Race, which was used at the time for school district
employees, Monday through Friday, was vacant on the weekends, so Soprano
decided to host a flea market. "From there it really took off," Soprano
explained.

Shopping at the Spring Garden location, now in its second season, is a
fairly new development, Soprano explained. The building was once used as the
hub of Philadelphia FedEx. "But," Soprano said, "they outgrew their space
and moved to another location on 34th and Grays Ferry."

So if you’re a lover of the old and classic, make sure to check out the
Spring Garden Market, which not only offers dressing rooms for people buying
clothes but also accepts all major credit cards. And if you’re a potential
vendor, simply go to the flea market web site to complete the simple
application process at www.philafleamarkets.org