Main Street was once the place to go for things like cheap furniture and upholstery supplies. Today it’s home to several vintage and antique shops, plus some impressive street art.
When I walk into many of the shops on Main Street, it’s like
a trip back in time. It’s delightful, except it’s a little unsettling that I
own (and still use) some of the things I’ve found for sale.
This display kitchen at Retro Vegas, for instance, holds
several objects that are very familiar to me. See that little folding stool by the counter, in the corner? I
have an identical one at home, inherited in the few things left from my
childhood home in the Charleston Park area Downtown.
If you’ve seen the movie “Casino,” you’ve seen what I call
Vintage Vegas style. The look is heavy on orange, olive, glass, and gold in a
mid-century style that’s actually pretty cool. It saw its apex during the 70s.
I think the earlier, slightly less gaudy 1960s style is cooler, but it’s a
little harder to find. Retro Vegas is filled with vintage pieces from prior
eras.
While Vegas-centric items are the focus of several Main
Street stores, that’s certainly not all you’ll find in the way of shops. Case
in point: Las Vegas Oddities and Antiquities, which is light on Vegas-themed
items but has everything from fine art to skulls.
Modern Mantiques has a great combination of vintage and interesting
items. My favorite piece here was a metal dragon sculpture. “Look, it’s your
spirit animal,” my son said.
JJC Clocks & Antiques is full of clocks (of course), but
also has an area filled with an assortment of vintage and antique pieces
alongside unexpected things, like this elephant.
The number of ash trays in most stores is astonishing. It’s
a reminder that everyone smoked everywhere all the time from the 60s through
the 80s. Ash trays were functional and decorative. Today, the prettier ones
have survived and can be re-purposed, unless you’re using them for their
original purpose. This is one I have, and I think it's way too pretty for cigarette ashes.
When you’re wandering down Main Street from store to store,
you see plenty of street art along the side streets. It’s one of the best
reasons to walk to a few shops.
It’s nice to see a mix of businesses in the area. The
vintage shops are neighbors to car repair shops, restaurants, plumbers, tattoo
parlors and other businesses that are hold-overs from Main Street’s prior life.
The word “gentrification” gets mentioned a lot when talking
about this part of town. Personally, I like it the way it is, but everything
changes, especially in Las Vegas. In August, LV Weekly featured a piece on Main Street, complete with an artistic conceptualization of how the new, redesigned,
one-way Main Street will look like after road construction is done (whenever
that may be). I’m sure it will be pretty, but I’ll admit I’m a big fan of
authentic grittiness when it comes to my home town. But I have hope we’ll get it
right, something like what has happened along Fremont East.
An afternoon on Main Street is sure to be entertaining, especially
if you’re hunting for a specific hard-to-find item, or if you’re of a certain
age and remember seeing this stuff when it first came out. If you dislike
glossy newness and cookie-cutter things, Main Street Las Vegas is the place
for you.
Are you a vintage and
antique shop lover?
Fun Fact:
Perhaps not coincidentally,
the owners of Retro Vegas own a home that was once an embodiment of the Vegas
Vintage style in every way. A few years ago I read a story in Las Vegas Weeklyabout the owners’ purchase of the former home of Doyle Brunson (also once the
residence of Jackie Gaughan), a place I knew well once since I was friends with
Brunson’s daughters when we were kids. It’s an amazing house that was once
filled with furnishings that would fit right into its current owners’ shop.
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All pictures by
Terrisa Meeks. See more from Main Street Las Vegas on my flickr page.