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Worth the Trip: Antiques stores bring Miami to life
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Antique season is about to begin in Miami. The shops lining Sullivan Street are open Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
Marija Potkonjak, Tribune
People collect everything — busts of Elvis Presley, frog salt and pepper shakers, Mickey Mouse phones — and somehow all of it seems to end up in Miami, Ariz.
“You’d be surprised,” says Gene Brass, co-owner of Grandma Weezy’s Attic. “We just bought a bulldog collection.”
Miami’s Sullivan Street is the heart of antiquing in the Cobre Valley. Once temperatures cool, Valley residents and winter visitors will make the drive east to find that must-have item at the perfect price. Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are the time to go, because all the shops are open for business.
“It’s not a ghost town,” says Jim Coates, owner of the Copper Mine Picture Cafe. “People come here for the art and the antiques.”
Miami was once a bustling mining town ruled by the fortunes of copper. Dilapidated houses (now being snatched up and rehabbed by retirees) were the homes of miners who came to Miami to make a living.
Coates and other shop owners want to see Miami become the next Bisbee or Jerome, but the town seems set in its mining mind-set. Look north and a mountain of slag and other remnants of its mining days loom above the town as a reminder.
“It’s gonna take a lot of hard work,” says Coates, whose gallery features the works of local artists. “The city is still in that mining-days mode.”
On a weekday, Sullivan Street might just be a ghost town. Nary a soul is on the
streets of downtown Miami. Only a few shops are open. But Friday morning, the street awakens and Miami becomes a quarter of the bustling town it once was. Between Miami and Globe there are about 30 stores to choose from. If you have a particular store in mind, it’s always a good idea to call ahead.
While you’re there
Check out the Elvis memorabilia at Grandma Weezy’s Attic, 411 Sullivan St., Miami. (928) 473-9004.
Snack on cookies and sip lattes at the Copper Mine Picture Cafe, 418 Sullivan St., Miami. (928) 200-2743 or www.copperminepicturecafe.com.
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