RIP- Tollbooth Antiques- Columbia, PA

[Lane Shirey]

As some of you from the Northeast know, Columbia PA is one of the antique meccas in Central PA.  ( also the home to the National Watch and Clock Museum)

Tollbooth Antiques has been a staple in the Columbia antiquing scene for a long while.  If you've been to Columbia, I'm sure you probably visited Tollbooth.  

In my opinion it was the best in the area with fair pricing, rotating inventory, super nice owners and vendors, and great antiques!  Lots of good fans came out of there over the years and some sit in my collection.

 

Sadly, late last week it all came to an end.  A massive fire engulfed the structure and consumed half of the building, which will be demolished this week, and the other half sustained heat, smoke and water damage.  The cause is undetermined.  But the old 100-year-old clothing mill with its wood tongue and groove floors and wood roof didn't stand a chance. 

Thankfully there were no injuries or major damage to the many homes that surround it.  The firemen did an amazing job to contain it.  They even managed to save a smaller unused building on the property that is planned to be a temporary place for some of their vendors to set up shop.  It was a mere 10' from the worst part of the flames.

Unfortunately, all of the vendors lost everything, and for several of them, it was their main source of income, and as I understand, getting insurance as an antique vendor is costly and difficult to get, so many were uninsured.  Apparently the building was insured and they intend to resume business in some form at some point. 

A number of good fans perished in the fire.  I was just there about a week before the fire.  Some that I know of: 23" Freshnd Aire, Vornado mid century type table fan, early 24" Emerson leaf blade Air Circulator. And a number of others.  Unfortunately they all had been there for years since they were grossly overpriced.  They were in one of the few booths that wouldn't negotiate.  

I'm going to post some pics in memory..  

They have set up some gofundme pages to help the vendors and rebuilding efforts, and if you'd like to contribute, it would be a generous of you but I'm not asking you to.  I'm in no way connected to the shop, but they're super nice folks.  

I just wanted to post a memorial to a once-great place!

 

 

 

Edited July 22, 2024 by Lane Shirey

[Lane Shirey]

Video of the Fire Fighters battling the fire.

 

 

Edited July 22, 2024 by Lane Shirey

[Michael Rathberger]

Damn, that's a shame.

[Louis Weedman]

I like old warehouses and I like antique malls. I especially like antique malls in old warehouses. What a devastating loss, but it's fortunate nobody was in there it sounds like.

[Lane Shirey]

9 hours ago, Louis Weedman said:

I like old warehouses and I like antique malls. I especially like antique malls in old warehouses. What a devastating loss, but it's fortunate nobody was in there it sounds like.

Thankfully it occurred after everyone left for the day.
 

There are 2 theories of how it happened, but they’re just speculation. They had been leaving upper windows open overnight, since the building was not cooled. There had been people using fireworks in the area most evenings leading up to the fire, so maybe one got inside. Also it was mentioned that with the windows open, they had to chase squirrels out of the building on several occasions. So maybe they chewed a wire. 

[John Trier]

What a bummer.  With quality antique shops closing across the country, this is such a shame.  Des Moines lost a really high end shop (majestic lion) years ago due to retirement.  2 others have burned to the ground. 

[James Lawson]

My wife and I stopped in there a couple of years ago and it was a neat place. Hate to hear this happened. As to the cause, the idiots with fireworks would be at the top of my suspect list.

[Michael Bouthiller]

Do u have any pictures of the fans before the fire Lane???

[David Allen]

What a terrible loss. 

Regardless of the cause of the fire, it might have been better had it happened during business hours. I expect that the fire would have been noticed and dealt with in the incipient stage, without much difficulty. 

There are fewer and fewer shops like this. Part of the problem is that the latest generation is too far removed from the generation who used these things. They have no attachment nor interest in them like we do. That makes it harder to support a business like this; and therefore much harder to overcome a loss and rebuild.

[Daniel Herczeg]

On 7/22/2024 at 8:01 PM, Louis Weedman said:

I like old warehouses and I like antique malls. I especially like antique malls in old warehouses. What a devastating loss, but it's fortunate nobody was in there it sounds like.

If it's near you, you should check out the Old Glory Antique Marketplace and Weil Antique Center. They both are abundant in fans, and are repurposed warehouses.

[Lane Shirey]

7 hours ago, Daniel Herczeg said:

If it's near you, you should check out the Old Glory Antique Marketplace and Weil Antique Center. They both are abundant in fans, and are repurposed warehouses.

Quite familiar with both. Though not many fans these days worth buying. 

[Daniel Herczeg]

I still find it impressive that the Weil Antique Center could hang and power so many fans. I'm also curious about what that fan over the checkout is at the Old Glory Antique Marketplace.