Mecca

When we set out for home yesterday morning the first thing we did was backtrack about thirty miles or so and head south for a visit to an antiques market recommended to us by Tracy, the co-owner of the fabulous Housewerks in Baltimore. We arrived before the shop was open which gave us a chance to have breakfast at a diner located inside Hinckle's Pharmacy.Hinckle's has been around since 1893 and it's still owned and run by the Hinckle family. By the look of the mosaic on the exterior I think it was last renovated in the 1950's.

Burning Bridge is in little old, out of the way, middle of no where Columbia, PA. It's situated in the downtown area (which is all of about three blocks) in a beautiful old brick building that once housed the neighborhood hardware store. The building is loaded with old time charm - enormous display windows, original pressed tin ceilings and hardwood floors - but that's only where the amazingness begins.

A Greenman greets you in the entryway.
He's fashioned from various architectural items.

The space has abundant natural light and a terrific flow with large aisles and beautifully staged booths and showcases.

Gotta love those old tin ceilings,

Lou Girolami is the manager of the market and his background is in retail (I'm guessing either marketing or window dressing). He's a straight forward friendly guy who seems to love his job and is having obvious success (the phone was ringing non-stop the whole time we were there). Burning Bridge has been open for only five years but it is already full to capacity with a waiting list of folks hoping to rent a space there.

Beside the vast array of items for sale Burning Bridge also has copious amounts of architectural salvage pieces which Lou has used creatively throughout the store to enhance the common area spaces. His handiwork gives the market a whimsical and artistic feeling and offers a sense of cohesiveness too.

On an early Monday morning there were lots of customers browsing the aisles. We were ohhhing and ahhhing from the moment we walked in the door and fortunately Lou let me photograph to my heart's content.

Stairs down into the lower level.The walls of the basement are limestone.

Too bad we didn't have room in the car!The second floor offers a huge variety of vintage itemsand boy did they have Fiesta!

Yes, I know the price tag says $550 but a girl can dream can't she?

We managed to pry ourselves away after two hours and since we avoided the major interstates our journey home was particularly scenicexcept when we drove right by the Three Mile Island Nuclear Facility.
That place just gives me the willies.We had lunch at an old fashioned diner in Halifax, PA where the waitresses called every one "sweetie",and made it home by early evening.Now, back to work!!