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Located on Route 4, the old highway that connects the seaport city of Portsmouth to the capital city of Concord, New Hampshire's Antique Alley is a must for collectors and dealers alike. It is the oldest antique shopping district in all of New England and really took off as such in the 1970s. However, there have been scattered antique shops along Route 4 since the early 1900s, making it a truly historic location as well as an antique destination!
The store that started it all on New Hampshire's Antique Alley in the 1970s was Parker-French Antiques, but back then it was a simple seasonal ice cream shop with a few antiques displayed on tables next to the main attraction. Over time, however, the antiques proved much more popular than the frozen treats, and other dealers asked if they could set up tables to sell their own antiques. Today, Antique Alley brings more than 500 antique dealers and collectors from across the U.S. and overseas to the heart of New England for a great shopping experience.
Along New Hampshire's Antique Alley are several antique malls where many independent dealers set up shop under one roof. Austin's Antiques is one such mall, with 50 different antique dealers specializing in furniture, as well as a number of smaller, interesting antiques.
The Betty House is an incredible building in its own right, built in the 1800s with many different parts to explore, each part now displaying many wonderful antique items to match the building's heritage! R.S. Butler's Trading Company has been in business for ten years and currently has a two story barn with 3600 square feet of antique merchandise. It is a fantastic selection of shops that would definitely take more than one day to fully explore.
New Hampshire's Antique Alley's claim to fame is the quality, value and variety of its collectibles, which has made the shopping center a year-round event. Antiques include stoneware, pottery, painted country and formal antique furniture, garden ornaments and architectural salvage, fine china and glassware, postcards, bottles, early advertising items, vintage record albums, sports memorabilia, butter churns, textiles, kitchen and country store collectibles, and much more!
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