Vintage Voyage: Lake Placid, NY
Just returned from a long weekend in Lake Placid, New York, a town filled with wonderful vintage treasures. As the sight of the third winter olympics in 1932, Placid holds on to the vintage treasures that put it on the map. Despite the popularity of the town during both summer and winter seasons, the downtown area remains quite small, filled with unique stores and restaurants.
One of my favorite spots has to be the Palace Theater. Opened in 1928 and converted into a multiplex in the 1980's, the owners of the theater have obviously tried to maintain the theater's original glory. I saw a 9:30 showing of The Reader and was happy to find myself alone in a tiny yet lavish upstairs theater. The film ran for me and my meager 7 dollars that was paid for admission. I regret not taking my camera on this trip, just for the purpose of taking shots of the theater's ornate paintings and fixtures. With the help of the internet I am able to provide some wonderful shots of the theater. Through my online search I found that the theater shows the occasional silent films that are accompanied by a live organist, I regret that a silent film was not being shown while I was in town. It is wonderful to see such a treasure preserved and maintained such as this theater has been. Below are some interior shots of the theater.
I was surprised to find a great diner in town, great diners seem to be hard to come by in my travels. The Downtown Diner has all the proper diner furniture, chrome and such, and was playing the most wonderful gypsy jazz. Most importantly, they served up a mighty good pancake, complete with bananas!
Some things outside of town not to be missed are the ice castle in Saranac Lake, which had sadly crumbled due to warm weather, and other wonderful old fashioned towns along route 12 and 28.
In Remsen NY, just outside the Adirondack park, there is a wonderful antique shop we always stop at called Back of the Barn Antiques. The store appears to be one of those cooperative shops with many vendors selling a variety of antique goodies. They have all sorts of stuff, from vintage sports gear to antique china and historical figurines. I was lucky enough this time to pick up a wonderful 1950's basket purse decorated with seashells and gold braid. I do not care too much for the shells but the purse has a fantastic lucite handle and latch and a wonderful interior that I could not pass up, plus it is big enough to carry all the essentials and a good book. While more convenient to visit while heading north to Lake Placid, the store is a refreshing place to stop after visiting Placid as most shops of this nature tend to be quite pricey there. Back of the Barn Antiques is a spot not to be missed.
